In Santiago de Cuba, there is a beach called Daiquirí. In an iron mine, in the same region and with the same name, the American engineer Jennings Cox worked at the end of the 19th century. This gentleman is responsible for the emergence of the famous Cuban drink Daiquirí.
Daiquirí is a cocktail to refresh.
They say that Jennings Cox received a visit at home, and when he was preparing the drinks for his guests, he realized he didn't have any gin, so he had to show his hospitality in true Cuban style by getting creative. He used Santiago white rum, and to lessen the intensity, he disguised it with lemon and sugar.
His friend, the Italian engineer Giacomo Pagliuchi, named the drink after the iron mine that fate brought them together. That is, Daiquirí.
The Daiquiri gradually spread through the bars of the Island. There is even evidence of its consumption outside the national territory since the early 20th century. It is a cocktail meant to refresh from its original conception. However, its true cold and tasty character was given a few years after its creation by Mr. Constantino Ribalaigua, bartender at El Floridita, who wisely incorporated crushed ice.
The Cuban word of mouth has passed down the story of this drink from generation to generation.
My Daiquirí in El Floridita
The true leap to worldwide fame of this cocktail from El Floridita was not only in the hands of the bartender but also in those of its customer, the Nobel Prize in Literature winner Ernest Hemingway. In the spot he usually occupied at the bar, there is now a sculpture that commemorates him and recalls his unforgettable phrase “My Mojito in La Bodeguita, my Daiquiri in El Floridita.”
The recipe for this cocktail is a testament to the value of simple things. Its history is curiously a tribute to the inventiveness and creativity of those who have lived and continue to live on this wonderful island.
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