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In an age of craft cocktails, one of the best recognized drinks has gotten the shaft. While recipes for drinks infused with flowers and layered with exotic juices get passed from Mixologist to cocktail lover, the Daiquiri recipe just collects dust on the shelf.

And doesn’t this drink deserve an update, a makeover or an innovative re-do as much as any other classic cocktail? So when Dos Maderas sent me a bottle of rum and a Daiquiri recipe, I got a bit giddy with the anticipation of revisiting this tried and true drink.

The history of the Daiquiri recipe

Although this once popular drink was invented in Cuba, the originator was an American. Shortly after the famed Battle of San Juan Hill, American miners were sent to the island nation to exploit its iron ore mines. An engineer named Stockton Cox was along on one of these expeditions about 130 years ago. And it is he who is credited with inventing the cocktail.

Cox’s Daiquiri recipe was one of necessity, using what he had on had when, according to Difford’s Guide, he ran out of gin. Since the local drink was rum, it was available in abundance, as were sugar and limes. And so, the story goes, the Daiquiri was born.

Love Rum drinks? Try this Rum Punch.

The use of aged rum in your cocktail

A Daiquiri is typically made with white rum. But the recipe suggested by Dos Maderas incorporates their 5+3 Spanish Rum into the three-ingredient cocktail. The rum is distilled and aged in the Caribbean before it is shipped to Spain for further aging in Solera Sherry Casks.

The resulting rum makes for a Daiquiri with a somewhat heavier body and more pronounced, fruity flavor than the classic variety. But, like all good drinks, this one was surely do for a makeover.

Although the recipe suggests using Dos Maderas aged rum as your main ingredient, I recommend experimenting with any aged rum that suits your preference. In my experimentation, I found that most will result in a similarly robust and satisfying cocktail.

Love a good cocktail? Check out all of our cocktail recipes.