Ernest Hemingway loved Daiquiris and there are two versions associated
specifically with him, The Papa Doble and the Hemingway Special. The two
drinks are very similar, varying only in the ratios and in the mixing
of the drink.
Though Jennings Cox is deemed the creator of the
Daiquiri, Havana bartender Constante Ribailagua, aka The Cocktail King,
is credited for having both perfected the original
daiquiri and creating the original frozen Daiquiri at the famed El
Floridita bar (The Temple of the Daiquiri) in pre-Castro Cuba.
While
Hemingway was in Havana to write he frequented the El Floridita and was
introduced to Ribailagua's Daiquiri. Hemingway loved it but, being a
diabetic, requested his Daiquiris without sugar, so Ribailagua obliged
him with one featuring Maraschino liqueur for the sugar substitute and
the Hemingway Special was born. Hemingway liked doubles so dubbed his
the Papa Doble.
It's said that Hemingway would often drink a
great number of Daiquiris in one sitting, reports listing from 12 to 16
in one session. Though Hemingway was admittedly a heavy drinker, because
he suffered with diabetes I would question these claims. Even though
the processed sugar had been removed in his Hemingway Specials, alcohol
itself converts to sugar in the bloodstream, not to mention the
converted sugars from the grapefruit juice. Not only that, take a gander
at the rum measurement, a whopping 3 and 1/2 ounces! Multiply that by
just ten and you have and 35 ounces of rum. That's nearly 4 and 1/2 cups
of rum, and that's 2 to 6 drinks below what the
stories profess he drank! This large a number of drinks would surely
have put anyone with diabetes in or near a diabetic coma. Hemingway also
had liver problems and high blood pressure, both of which are also
exasperated by alcohol intake. But it makes for a nice story.
Whatever
the myths that surround Hemingway and the Daiquiri, it is truth that he
loved them, often including references to them in his writings.
(Hemingway's own name for a double Hemingway)
2 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice
2 Oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
6 Drops Maraschino Liqueur
The Hemingway Special
(What the tourists are probably served)
1 Tsp. Grapefruit Juice
1 Tsp. Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice
