National Daiquiri Day 2021: 10 Fun Facts About The Rum-Based Cocktail

Lovers of a good daiquiri can raise the glasses to their favorite cocktail today, as July 19 marks National Daiquiri Day.

The reason why it's celebrated on the said date is unclear, however, it gives fans of the cocktail a reason to indulge in the rum-based drink.

A daiquiri is basically comprised of rum, citrus juice and sugar. While it often exudes the feeling of being at the beach on a summer day, it was actually created in 1898 during the Spanish-American War by American engineer Jennings Cox. He supervised the mine in a Cuban village called Daiquiri and would go to a local bar with his colleagues after work. One day he mixed Bacardi, sugar and lime in a glass of ice and named the drink after the Daiquiri mines.

From the small community in Cuba, the cocktail became a staple in Havana and has since become quite a popular drink everywhere.

To celebrate National Daquiri Day this year, let's have a look at some interesting facts about the famous cocktail. (Courtesy: Days of the Year (DOTY), Mobile-Cuisine and Town & Country)

1. The Cuban pronunciation for daiquiri is "dye-ker-ree."
2. Cox called the cocktail the "Ron Bacardi a la Daiquiri," but it was later called "daiquiri."
3. The daiquiri debuted in the U.S. in 1909 after Rear Admiral Lucius W. Johnson tried the drink and introduced it to the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C.
4. Other drinks were made by combining rum, lime, and sugar even before the Daiquiri was created. What made it different is the use of Bacardi Carta Blanca rum, which was the new drink at the time.
5. Daiquiri is a favorite drink of famed American writer Ernest Hemmingway. He reportedly earned the nickname "Papa Doble" as he drank his daiquiris "by the double." There is a variation of the cocktail named after Hemmingway. It's also called the "Papa Doble."
6. Apart from Hemingway, President John F. Kennedy was also said to be a fan of the cocktail.
7. There are five versions of the classic Daiquiri. They contain ingredients like grapefruit juice, maraschino liqueur, grenadine or curacao.
8. Cox's daiquiri became so successful that he received a generous stipend from the company he worked for as well as a monthly supply of a gallon of Bacardi so he could continue making it.
9. The daiquiri is one of the six basic drinks listed in David A. Embury's "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks."
10. Daiquiris and other rum cocktails became popular during World War II because wartime rationing made liquor such as vodka and whiskey more difficult to obtain.