Posted May 21, 2018

In Beverage, Cooking, Recipe, Recipe Redux

There’s almost nothing I love more than a good cocktail. Yes, I’m a Dietitian and I love cocktails. Hence the word BALANCE in the title of my business name. While my favorite category of beverage is that of the complex tiki bar variety (you can read about that here), there’s something to be said for simplicity when I’m making drinks at home. Enter the classic daiquiri. I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t a daiquiri a frozen, sugary concoction that comes from a slurpee machine that you drink from a sippy cup in Las Vegas at the many Fat Tuesday’s located along the Strip? Believe me, I love a good sippy cup drink, especially because those cups are great for smoothies when you get home! However, those are not true, classic daiquiris.

A real daiquiri is nothing more than rum, lime juice and a little simple syrup. Shake shake shake with ice, strain and enjoy. While there are several versions of the origin story for this drink, we do know that this beloved beverage has its roots in Cuba. The daiquiri was introduced to the U.S. in 1909 when Rear-Admiral Lucius W. Johnson brought it from Cuba to the Army and Navy Club in Washington D.C. Their lounge is even called the Daiquiri Lounge, which honors the U.S. introduction of this tasty libation.

One of my favorite daiquiri versions is the Hemingway Daiquiri, named after Ernest Hemingway, who of course in addition to being a famous author, was also quite the famous boozer. He fancied a much stronger version of the classic daiquiri and without the sugar. Nicknamed the Papa Doble, it had 4 ounces of rum with a splash of lime. Basically, he drank jet fuel! In order to make the beverage more palatable to the public, and probably to capitalize on his celebrity name, La Floridita in Havana created the Hemingway Daiquiri with rum, grapefruit juice, lime juice and maraschino liquor. Don’t think of those atomic red cherries when you think of maraschino liqueur. It’s actually an Italian liqueur distilled from Marasca cherries. The version of the Heminway Daiquiri at Carthay Circle Lounge at Disney’s California Adventure, called Ernest’s Daiquiri, is one of my favorite concoctions on the face of this earth. This drink is no joke. It’ll have you happy in about 5 minutes!

While I don’t like to bastardize classic cocktails too much, I knew I wanted to tweak the classic daiquiri for this month’s Recipe Redux where we were challenged to create a gut health cocktail. I chose to interpret that as using some sort of fermented substance such as kombucha, kefir, kefir water or yogurt in a drink. You could even create a cocktail using sauerkraut liquid. Perhaps a Bloody Mary might be nice for that. I personally chose strawberry kombucha because it imparts a slight fruity flavor, but doesn’t overwhelm the other simple ingredients.

My Strawberry Kombucha Daiquiri is super easy to make! Make sure you use fresh lime juice and not bottled. Since the drink is so simple, its taste relies on quality ingredients. While this boozy beverage contains probiotics (read my post about probiotics here), don’t think it’s going to be a miracle cure for your belly issues. It’s still an alcoholic beverage to be enjoyed in moderation! In addition to its gut health properties, I like using the kombucha as a mixer instead of fruit juice because it has less sugar. This daiquiri has only approximately 4 grams of sugar. Even though the drink is 5 ounces, if you’re a lightweight, watch out because it packs a punch!

Strawberry Kombucha Daiquiri

Print Recipe

This twist on a classic daiquiri uses strawberry kombucha for a dash of probiotics along with a refreshing light strawberry flavor. You can either buy simple syrup or make your own. Just add 1 part white sugar to 1 part water in a sauce pan. Heat and stir until sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Cool and use in your cocktails.

Author: TastyBalance Nutrition
Yield: One 5-ounce cocktail 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1–1/2 ounces (3 Tablespoons) white rum (I prefer using a lightly aged blended white rum such as Probitas or Real McCoy 3)
1–1/2 ounces (3 Tablespoons) Strawberry kombucha ( I use GT’s Strawberry Serenity Kombucha)
3/4 ounce (1 Tablespoon + 1–1/2 teaspoons) freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon simple syrup
1/2 cup ice