20150716

HEMINGWAY SPECIAL & PAPA DOBLE DAIQUIRIS


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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.

Papa with his favorite Daiquiri in hand.
 
The Papa Doble Daiquiri
(Hemingway's own name for a double Hemingway)
 
 
3-3/4 Oz. White Rum
2 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice
2 Oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
6 Drops Maraschino Liqueur
 
Blend well with chipped ice in a cocktail shaker and serve in a large chilled goblet.
 
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The Hemingway Special
(The Hemingway Daiquiri)
(What the tourists are probably served)
 
2 Oz. White Rum
1 Tsp. Grapefruit Juice
1 Tsp. Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice
 
Hand chip (FrappĂ©) some ice, add to shaker, then add remaining ingredients.  Shake well, then pour contents of shaker into a chilled cocktail glass filled with crushed ice.
 
To be perfectly honest, neither of these would be a favorite of mine. The Papa Doble is way too strong and neither were sweet enough for me, but I really did like the addition of the Maraschino liqueur and I used Luxardo's brand. To make this enjoyable for myself, and because I'm not a diabetic, I added about a tablespoon of simple syrup to my Hemingway Special and then was quite happy. Then I added one of my Homemade Maraschino Cherries with a lime wheel as garnishes because we all know I like my cocktails with some geegaws.
 
He was drinking another of the frozen daiquiris with no sugar in it and as he lifted it, heavy and the glass frost-rimmed, he looked at the clear part below the frappéd top and it reminded him of the sea.
~Ernest Hemingway, Islands in the Stream
 

 
Updated 7-2018
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
 
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