The Hemingway Daiquiri
Available throughout November at 50 Bistro.
According to legend (and the book And a Bottle of Rum by Wayne Curtis), the Hemingway Daiquiri was invented when, one fateful day, Hemingway stepped into El Floridita in Havana, Cuba, to use the restroom. Upon emerging, Hemingway caught sight of a lineup of frosty Daiquiris on the bar. He asked if he could try one, and the bartender, smartly, said yes (Hemingway was a large, burly man, not to be refused).
Hemingway’s verdict: “That’s good, but I prefer it without the sugar and double rum.” The bartender mixed one up to his specifications on the spot and Hemingway loved it. It was named the Papa Doble—a nod to Hemingway’s pet name amongst Havana locals—but Hemingway referred to it as a Double Frozen Daiquiri.
This was the drink he slurped down by the dozens—literally. He once drank 17 in one day, and according to a letter Hemingway wrote to writer Harvey Breit, he didn’t even get a hangover. In the correspondence, Hemingway implies that the cocktail’s sugar-free preparation and a steak sandwich were to thank.