"Don't bother with churches, government buildings, or city squares. If you want to know about a culture, spend a night in its bars." - Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway drinks heavily for much of his life, and is most often associated with the giant, sour, frozen Daiquiri known as the Papa Doble – Papa is Hemingway's nickname in Havana, while Doble indicates his preferred octane.

Hemingway drinks it at EI Floridita, an American-style bar in Havana – he once consumes 16 in an evening and remarks that one "felt as you drank them, the way downhill glacier skiing feels running through powder snow". Created by Constantino Ribalaigua Vert who is known as "The Cocktail King of Cuba", the recipe for Daiquiri doubles the dose of rum and often uses less sugar (or no sugar) in favor of grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur. There is a subtle simile in Islands in the Stream by Hemingway to describe the drink – "This frozen daiquiri, so well beaten as it is, looks like the sea where the wave falls away from the bow of a ship when she is doing thirty knots."

Undoubtedly, it is Hemingway that makes Daiquiri manage to attract worldwide attention. But this classic cocktail has truly come a long way.

Daiquiri and Cuba are closely connected. Cuba has a very complex past. This small island has been coveted by other countries for its entire history due to its temperate climate, making it great for growing crops, and a location that is excellent for a stopping point after several months at sea. All these lay the foundations for the later development of Daquiri.

In 1740, Admiral Edward "Old Grog" Vernon attempted to keep British sailors sober and healthy by mixing the rum with water and citrus juice (typically squeezed from limes) to dilute the potent spirit. It is one of the earliest known instances of the combination of lime juice, water, and rum, which is then regarded as the predecessor of Daiquiri.

Daiquiri is actually the name of a beach and an iron mine near Santiago de Cuba, where the United States first invaded Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. It is said that the drink is invented by an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox, who was in Cuba at that time. The story goes that one night while entertaining guests, Cox ran out of gin, so he went out and purchased the easiest liquor he could find, which was rum. Cox added lemons, sugar, and ice to the rum topped it with mineral water and named it for the nearby beach Daiquiri. Unsurprisingly, Daiquiri was favored by everyone present.

Daiquiri was only available in Cuba until 1909, when Rear Admiral Lucius W. Johnson, a U.S. Navy medical officer, after a meeting with Cox, introduced it to the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. Then the fine drink quickly spread in popularity throughout the States. It was also one of the favorite drinks of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who once celebrated his 1960 election win with a Daiquiri made by his wife Jackie.

You can find a number of recipes for Daiquiri online. Here is a simple sample.

What you need:

1)1 1/2 ounces light rum;

2)3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice;

3)1/2 to 3/4 ounce simple syrup, to taste.

Steps to make a Daiquiri:

1)Chill a cocktail glass with ice or in a refrigerator;

2)Pour all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker over ice and shake gently;

3)Strain into the chilled cocktail glass and enjoy.

Tips you may want to know:

1)If your drink is a bit too tart, add more syrup. If it is too sweet, add more lime.

2)Though a Daiquiri isn't usually garnished, a lime wedge or twisted lime peel is a good option.

3)Like many classic cocktails, the Daiquiri is designed to be a short, neat drink, which is why the final volume is only 3 ounces. You can certainly double the recipe or serve it on the rocks if you want to drink longer.