Story by Sam Bygrave
Photographs by Christopher Pearce
Presented by Mary White, The Lobo Plantation, Sydney
In association with BACARDÍ
Is there a better test of a bartender’s experience than the Daiquiri? Three simple ingredients. Shake it up and strain. How hard can that be?
Well, if you’re new to the bartending game, it can be hard to get it just so. The Daiquiri is a great test of a bartender because of its simplicity and its difficulty to master — the balance has to be just right. Well, what we do know is that The Lobo Plantation knows how to make ‘em, and bar manager Mary White has got it down to a fine art.
“We usually will ask if they have a preference for a sweeter or more sour Daiquiri,” she tells us. And that, you see, is the mark of experience: lime juice, notorious for its frailty once pressed, can be sweeter or more sour depending on the lime; and each guest’s palate will process the balance slightly differently, so it takes an experienced bartender to get it right consistently.
The other thing we love about the Daiquiri is how its simple construction provides a jumping off point for other inventions. The Old Cuban — an Audrey Saunders drink — is one such example; so too is White’s White Negroni Daiquiri. Here she employs that sour formula of the Daiquiri and spikes it with a line of Suze — you get all the freshness of a Daiquiri with a bead of earthy gentian making the drink moreish, and giving it great length.
Daiquiri
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Notes on Ingredients
• Bacardi Carta Blanca displays distinctive vanilla and almond notes on the nose.
• Bacardi was the rum employed in the first incarnation of the Daiquiri recipe by Jennings Cox, all the way back in 1898.
• It’s the lighter, softer, sweeter style of rum that makes Bacardi Carta Blanca perfect for a
good Daiquiri.
