Strawberry daiquiri cocktail recipe

Daiquiris are not only famous for quenching your thirst and refreshing the taste buds; but its history is equally enchanting to the ears. Daiquiri is supposed to have been originated in Cuba, in an island called Santiago; where a group of miners accidentally stumbled across the recipe while trying to make up for the lack of gin. In fact the name daiquiri was given in honor of the beach and the mine where these engineers used to work. Accident or not, daiquiri lovers have no complaint about the discovery at all.

Daiquiri is an old favorite with the ladies and well loved for its mixed, tangy and fruity flavor. Although originally a rum based drink, it was a sailor’s choice in the past and prepared by just pouring rum straight into a tall glass filled with crushed ice and sugar. Lime juice was then poured from top. But later traditional rum was replaced with other alternatives like white rum, vodka, liqueur etc. Various ingredients starting from melons, apples, bananas, peaches, berries to oranges are used to make this heady cocktail.

The below recipe uses fresh strawberries which will give a delectably sweet and tangy taste to the brew. The alcohol base used is vodka instead of rum which makes it a preferred choice for ladies who love vodka.

Ingredients:

Fresh strawberries: ½ cup

Vodka: 1.55 oz (45 ml)

Lemon : 1

Lime juice: 3 tbsp

Crushed ice: 1 cup

Sugar: ½ cup

Muddling spoon or stick

Cocktail shaker

Active time: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Before preparing the cocktail it is best to keep the glasses ready. Daiquiri is served in cocktail or martini glasses which keeps the ingredients intact due to its shape. To ready the glasses, rim the edges with the lime juice and then dip in sugar. Keep them aside in the freezer for chilling for a few minutes.

To prepare the drink, first clean, cut, de-stem and dice the strawberries. Take a tough bowl like a wooden pestle and use a muddle spoon/stick to muddle the strawberries and keep aside.

Crush the ice into very minute sizes and put inside the cocktail shaker. Add the crushed strawberry into the shaker and gently squeeze lemon juice from top and stir inside the mixture and shake briskly till mixed completely.

Take out the glasses from the chiller and strain the mixture into them using a fine, juice strainer. Serve chilled with a mint leaf as garnish.

Tips: You can use ready-made strawberry juice instead of fresh ones, but the taste will not be the same. If buying strawberries, make sure they are in season and fresh.

There is also strawberry flavored vodka available in the market which can be used to make the same cocktail. White rum can be used instead of vodka.

If desired, you can add other berries with the strawberries or some other fruits which goes well with berries, like peach.

Always use powdered sugar, and if not available readily, you can powder normal sugar at home by using a mixer.