Today's lesson: Berry Smash Daiquiri This one is another Finleyville original that I whipped up at a friends house using some loose ingredients. All I did really was to add some fresh berries to the classic daiquiri. (A true daiquiri has only rum, lime, and sugar.) However, how you prepare the drink will alter how it tastes. Here it is: (My exact ingredients are listed in brackets) 2 oz. light rum (preferred: Havana Club 3yo.* -- acceptable: El Dorado 3yo., Cruzan Diamond Estate 5yo) 1/2 oz. simple syrup (homemade) half large lime 4 raspberries 1 strawberry Place the berries and 1/4 oz. of simple syrup into a shaker or double old fashioned glass. Using a muddler or other implement muddle them into a pulp. Next prepare the lime by halving it lengthwise. Cut off the tail and tip of one half. I also cut out the center white pith that runs down the middle of the lime while scarring it a couple of times crosswise. Doing this will allow the lime half to "open up" when you smash it. (I helped out the half shown below before I put it in the shaker.) Now place the lime skin down in the shaker/glass with the remaining syrup. Muddle this till the whole lime is pulpy. Add the rum then fill the glass with crushed ice. (This drink does taste better with crushed ice even if you have to put the cubes in a freezer ziplock and smash them with a pan or rolling pin.) If built in a shaker then shake all together and pour into your double old fashioned glass. If built in the glass just take a spoon and stir it up. Garnish with a small spoon and a couple of raspberries or even a strawberry. If you are looking for a "frozen strawberry daiquiri" you will be sorely surprised with this drink. It tastes nothing of that sort. The lime and berries are there, but in a fresh and wholesome way. It is light, and very, very refreshing. In fact, it is really easy to drink this in just a couple of sips and instantly want another, and another, and .... Because there is so little ingredients the quality of rum you choose cannot be stressed enough. Bacardi is a definite NO GO! The quality rums I listed above are pretty inexpensive and can be had for under $20. So there is no need to stoop so low as to use bottom shelf rum. *Havana Club rum is actually from Cuba so it is not available in the USA. It is my favorite mixing white rum unfortunately. So I will be a sad bartender when I finish off the last of my stash. If you hail from countries other than the US then seriously try their 3yo. Cheers.
