The name Daiquirí is also the name of a beach near Santiago, Cuba, and an iron mine in that area, and it is a word of Taíno origin.The cocktail was invented about 1905 in a bar named Venus in Santiago, about 23 miles east of the mine, by a group of American mining engineers. Although stories persist that that Cox, one of the engineers present, invented the drink when he ran out of gin while entertaining American guests the drink evolved naturally due to the prevalence of lime and sugar.

The drink became incredibly popular in the 1940s. Wartime rationing made whiskey, vodka, etc, hard to come by, yet because of Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor policy (which opened up trade and travel relations with Latin America, Cuba and the Caribbean), rum became highly attainable. The Good Neighbor Policy (also known as ‘The Pan-American program’), helped make Latin America seem hip, hot and fashionable. As a consequence, rum-based drinks (once frowned upon as being the domain of sailors and down-and-outs), also became fashionable, and the Daiquiri saw a tremendous rise in popularity in the US.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS

1 x 300g pkt frozen raspberries, slightly thawed
2 cups crushed ice
80ml (1/3 cup) Frangelico liqueur
80ml (1/3 cup) cognac
80ml (1/3 cup) fresh lime juice
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
2 tbs coarsely chopped fresh mint

PREPARATION

1. Place the raspberries, ice, Frangelico, cognac, lime juice, sugar and mint in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. 
2. Pour evenly among serving glasses. 
3. Serve immediately.