A Cranberry Daiquiri is tangy and refreshing – so pretty during the holidays all when thoughts turn to holiday parties and festive cocktails with cranberry juice! Make this by the glass or by the pitcher — you won’t be disappointed!
Ingredients
This is a very simple cocktail –
- Spiced rum or white rum – whichever you prefer
- Cranberry juice cocktail
- Lime juice – fresh squeezed is best
- Simple syrup – just bring equal amounts of sugar and water just to a boil, stir until the sugar is dissolved, and let cool.
- A slice of orange zest – totally optional but I like the flavor it imparts!
- Ice, cranberries, and your favorite garnish.
History of the Daiquiri
We have Cuba and the British Navy to thank for the development of this drink.
You see, back when England and Spain were battling for the new world they spent a lot of time in the Caribbean. There was a law that the sailors were to get a gallon of beer a day but when the ship was away from port for long periods of time it was hard to do. Someone had the brilliant idea that rum, a beverage that was very easy to get in the Caribbean, was an acceptable substitute.. so each sailor was given a pint of rum per day.
A PINT y’all.
The sailors were too bombed to do their jobs so Admiral Edward Vernon, who was given the knickname Old Grog, ordered that the rum be mixed with water and lime. (That was before anyone knew about the utter deliciousness of a cranberry Daiquiri cocktail) The sailors got their booze and prevented scurvy all at the same time. The man was brilliant! Well, it wasn’t until the Spanish-American war that the drink was given a name. Colonel Teddy Roosevelt was pushing the U.S. to help Cuba achieve independence from Spain and landed troops on Daiquiri Beach.
Once the island had been taken a man named Jennings Cox was entertaining guests and ran out of gin. He replaced it with rum, added lemons, sugar, and mineral water and created a punch that his guests loved, named the Daiquiri after the nearby beach.
It wasn’t very well known until the 1920s when F. Scott Fitzgerald mentioned the drink in his novel, This Side of Paradise. Even then the Daiquiri didn’t become widely ordered until a writer by the name of Ernest Hemingway took the drink as his own. Since Hemingway was a diabetic he created a sugarless version made with double rum, maraschino liqueur, and grapefruit. It’s known as the Papa Doble.
The Daiquiri is obviously the drink of angst filled writers.
More Great Holiday Cocktails
If you liked this daiquiri you may also like these other holiday cocktails!
Cranberry Daiquiri Recipe
Have a cranberry Daiquiri cocktail once in awhile and you’ll never have to worry about scurvy!
This is absolutely one of my favorite cocktails for the holidays – you can even make it in a pitcher for parties.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars!
Cranberry Daiquiri Recipe
Print Add to CollectionEquipment Needed
- Cocktail Shaker
Ingredients
- 2 ounces rum, spiced or white
- 2 ounces cranberry juice
- 1 ounce lime juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup, (more or less to taste)
- 3 inches orange peel
- Cracked ice
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a shaker and shake briskly for a minute or so.
- Strain into a stemmed cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a slice of lime, cranberries, or your favorite garnish.
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