The Hemingway Daiquiri

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Ernest Hemingway was a smart guy for more than his gifted writing abilities…he also loved a great cocktail. More specifically, Hemingway had a love for daiquiris. According to “The Complete Cocktail Manual,” the Hemingway Daiquiri is a traditional daiquiri with a splash of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.

This past weekend I went to Chicago’s most loved tiki bar, Three Dots and a Dash. Three Dots transports you to an island bar far, far away from the chilly city of Chicago. Their drinks are fruity and pack a big punch with different rums. Admittedly, one of my favorite things is the presentation of the cocktails that are WAY over the top! I was a dork and picked up one of their souvenir mugs, but you can also get them here for much less! I can’t wait to break it out for long days spent on our rooftop deck in the sun!

The Hemingway Daiquiri

 2 oz White Rum

3/4 oz Lime Juice

1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice

Combine all of your ingredients in a cocktail shaker or cocktail mixing glass. Add ice and shake or stir for about 15 seconds. Strain into a preferably cold coupe glass and garnish with a strip of grapefruit skin or thinly sliced lime wedge.

The Hemingway Daiquiri is very spirit heavy so I would recommend splurging on a good quality white rum. Since the amount of juice is so small, you might as well go all the way and freshly squeeze your own grapefruit and lime juice. Personally, I needed to add a little bit of sweetness to my cocktail so I splashed in a half ounce of simple syrup. It helped to make the cocktail palatable for a slow drinker such as myself!

I used these coupe glasses from William Sonoma, but I love these simple, modern ones from my favorite place for quick, chic staples: CB2!

<3 Al

The Classic Negroni

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Count Camillo Negroni was a smart guy. He picked up a taste for hard liquor while working as a clown in the US (no joke…) and asked his bartender to alter his favorite drink at the time, the Americano, to be a bit stronger by adding gin instead of seltzer. While this is a classic cocktail, I personally could not drink it regularly. The strong dose of Campari gives this libation a bitter taste that is better sipped on slowly after some ice dilution.

I made this classic Italian cocktail the night before I left to go to Milan with my parents. Most of my cocktail recipes are from The Complete Cocktail Manual, but may be slightly altered to my own taste. This recipe is unaltered from the original, and is incredibly simple to make due to the equal parts of each ingredient.

Classic Negroni:

1 1/2 oz Gin (I prefer Hendrick’s but Koval also makes a great gin if you are looking for something smaller batch and local to Chicago.)

1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth

1 1/2 oz Campari

Orange peel to garnish

Combine all ingredients without the garnish in a rocks glass with ice (I prefer one giant ice cube- you can get this with these ice cube molds.) Stir with a cocktail spoon and add garnish.

 

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I would serve this with a hearty cheese board with different flavor profiles, charcuterie and an assortment of toppings and olives. Who doesn’t love cheese? Try to have three to four different kinds of cheese plus prosciutto and salami- then load up on the less expensive accompaniments like sliced Italian bread, assorted olives and nuts. Personally, I like a hard cheese like Parmesan, a soft cheese like brie or blue cheese and a cow milk based cheese that is mild. A cheese board doesn’t have to be gigantic to be delicious, as demonstrated below!

 

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  <3 Al