Don's Special Daiquiri recipe
A legendary mid-century tiki classic blending aged Jamaican rum, honey, and tart passion fruit.
Method: Flash-blend with crushed ice ·
Glass: Chilled footed glass with crushed ice ·
Time: 4 min ·
Difficulty: Intermediate ·
Family: Tiki & Tropical
Ingredients
- 45 ml Aged Jamaican rum (Gold or dark pot-still)
- 15 ml Light Cuban-style rum (White rum)
- 22.5 ml Fresh lime juice (Squeezed fresh)
- 15 ml Passion fruit syrup (Rich passion fruit purée syrup)
- 7.5 ml Honey syrup (2:1 honey to water ratio)
How to make a Don's Special Daiquiri
- Add the aged Jamaican rum, light Cuban-style rum, fresh lime juice, passion fruit syrup, and honey syrup into a blending tin.
- Fill the tin with half a cup of crushed ice.
- Flash-blend on a spindle blender for five seconds until thoroughly chilled and aerated.
- Pour the contents unstrained into a chilled footed glass or tiki mug.
- Top generously with more crushed ice and garnish with a fresh mint sprig and lime shell.
Garnish
Garnish with a fresh mint sprig and a spent lime shell.
Pro tip
Always use a spindle blender with crushed ice rather than standard shaking to achieve the authentic frothy texture and rapid dilution characteristic of Don the Beachcomber's original tiki recipes.
History of the Don's Special Daiquiri
Created by legendary tiki pioneer Ernest Raymond Gantt (known as Don the Beachcomber) in Hollywood during the late 1930s, Don's Special Daiquiri emerged as part of the nascent tropical cocktail movement. While popular lore often credits Don with inventing the drink outright, beverage historians suggest it evolved as an elaborate mid-century variation of the classic Cuban rum sour, incorporating exotic island ingredients like passion fruit and honey syrup alongside a split rum base. The recipe gained widespread acclaim across post-war cocktail bars before entering modern craft cocktail canons.
Flavour profile
Tart, Sweet, Complex, Tropical
Variations
- Navy Grog Twist — Add a quarter ounce of allspice dram and substitute demerara syrup for honey syrup to create a richer, spiced profile.
- Hemingway Daiquiri Fusion — Include a barspoon of maraschino liqueur and reduce the honey syrup for a drier, more tart citrus finish.
Practise making the Don's Special Daiquiri in the free Virtual Bar game.