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Two friends with a shared love for Classic Cocktails, paying homage to the pre-prohibition era. We do parties!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Hemingway

Photo: T.J. McLachlan



"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with fools."


When Ernest Hemingway penned these words in his 1940 Classic, For Whom the Bells Toll, it is reasonable to assume that he toasted his work with one of his many unique cocktails. While Hemingway was not a cocktail mixer himself, he had, much like his ability to select the right words,  the ability to request an excellent blend of flavour in his drinks. 
 
 
In the beginning (around 1939) the drink was named "Daiquiri como Papa" or "Daiquiri a la servaje", then "Papa Doble" and finally it became "Hemingway Especial" after Constante Ribalaigua made the final recipe (whereupon Maraschino Liqueur was added). This cocktail calls for white Rum, fresh lime juice, fresh grapefruit juice and Maraschino Liqueur.
 

Constante Ribalaigua was the legendary bartender at La Florida (also knowns as El Floridita), which became renowned in the early 1900s as Havana's "Cathedral of Cocktails", and frequented by the literary hero for whom this drink is named. We are excited to bring grapefruit juice to the forefront in this excellent cocktail; its funkiness works exceptionally well with the earthy aroma of Maraschino liqueur, and both settle in well with the lime juice and aged white Rum.

We hope Hemingway would approve.

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