The Don's Special Daiquiri recipe
according to the IBA specification
Make the honey syrup in advance: dissolve honey in an equal amount of hot water and let it cool.
Put both rums, the passion fruit syrup, lime juice, and honey syrup in the blender with one cup of crushed ice.
Blend for 3 to 5 seconds, just long enough to mix and chill.
Pour everything into the hurricane glass and top up with fresh crushed ice.
Garnish with half a passion fruit and serve with a straw.
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The story
Don's Special Daiquiri comes from Donn Beach, who opened his Don the Beachcomber bar in Hollywood after Prohibition and is considered the founder of the tiki bar. According to tiki historian Jeff 'Beachbum' Berry, who published the recipe in Beachbum Berry Remixed, it is a later version of the Mona Daiquiri, a drink Donn was already serving in 1934. Exactly when the name changed cannot be said with certainty. Its structure is that of the Cuban Daiquiri: rum, lime and something sweet. Donn added a second rum for depth and replaced the sugar with passion fruit and honey, an ingredient that often appears in his recipes. Thus, a crisp classic became a tropical drink over crushed ice. The IBA included it in its official list of cocktails.
The right glass
The IBA specifies a footed copo: a rounded bowl on a short stem, filled with crushed ice. A hurricane glass of around 44 cl comes closest. It contains only 9 cl of drink; the rest is ice, and that is exactly the intention: this keeps it cold for a long time and gradually makes it lighter. The rounded bowl retains the aroma of passion fruit, while the stem keeps your hand away from the cold glass. View our hurricane glasses.
Royal Leerdam Hurricane Cocktail Glass on Foot 44 cl (6 pieces)
Arcoroc Hurricane Cocktail Glass 44 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 95,90.
The right tools
For a Don's Special Daiquiri, in addition to the glass, use a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus press and glass straws. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 3 bar tools together € 142,80.
What do you make a Don's Special Daiquiri with?
You need rum for a Don's Special Daiquiri. Well-known bottles include Havana Club. On each drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it pairs with, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
In the recipe published by Jeff Berry, the drink is shaken and served without ice in a cocktail glass, with light rum from Puerto Rico instead of Cuban rum. This produces a smaller, more intense drink than the blended IBA version. If you want to bring out the fruit even more, use fresh passion fruit pulp with a teaspoon of sugar. Related drinks include the Frozen Daiquiri, the fruity Hurricane with passion fruit and rum, and the spiced Three Dots and a Dash.
Serving tip
Taste the passion fruit syrup beforehand: homemade syrup is often more acidic than store-bought syrup. If your syrup is very sweet, use 1 cl of honey syrup instead of 1.5 cl. Place the passion fruit half cut-side up on the ice so that its aroma stands out from the very first sip.
Good to know
Don's Special Daiquiri recipe: the ingredients at a glance
Five ingredients, almost all in equal proportions. The 3 cl of golden Jamaican rum is the base, bringing the ripe, lightly funky fruit notes Jamaican rum is known for. Add 1.5 cl of Cuban rum, which is light and dry and keeps the drink crisp. Passion fruit syrup, fresh lime juice, and honey syrup, 1.5 cl each, create the sweet-and-sour component. Because the sweetness and acidity are perfectly balanced, you can taste the rum clearly. The crushed ice is not just an afterthought: it dilutes the drink and turns a compact daiquiri into a long, cold tiki drink.
Make passion fruit syrup yourself
You can buy passion fruit syrup ready-made, but making it yourself is simple and fresher. Cut six passion fruits in half, scoop out the pulp, and weigh it. Add an equal amount of sugar and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved, without letting it boil. Strain out the seeds and let it cool. In a clean bottle, the syrup keeps for about a week in the refrigerator. Homemade syrup is more acidic than store-bought syrup, so taste your cocktail and adjust the honey syrup if necessary. Learn how to make a basic syrup at making sugar syrup.
Which rum works best
For the 3 cl of Jamaican rum, choose a golden rum that is a few years old. Jamaican rum is known for its ripe, almost overripe notes of banana and pineapple, which pair perfectly with passion fruit. The 1.5 cl of Cuban rum is light and dry; Havana Club 3 Años is the obvious choice. If you do not have Jamaican rum, you can use another aged rum, but the drink will be flatter. Do not replace the Cuban rum with a heavy dark rum, as that will make the freshness disappear. Find more rum drinks in our rum cocktails.
Difference from the classic Daiquiri
The Daiquiri is rum, lime, and sugar, shaken and served without ice in a coupe. Donn Beach took that structure and transformed it into a tiki drink. He used two rums for greater depth, replaced the sugar with honey and passion fruit, and served it over crushed ice. The result is less sharp, more aromatic, and longer-lasting. The Hemingway Special is another Daiquiri variation, with grapefruit and maraschino and no extra sweetness. Tasting them side by side shows how far you can go with the same three building blocks.
Making Don's Special Daiquiri without a blender
The IBA allows a short blend, but shaking works perfectly well. Add all the ingredients with ice cubes to the shaker and shake for twelve seconds. Then pour over fresh crushed ice in your glass, or strain into a chilled coupe for a more compact, more intense version without ice. The latter method is also used in the recipe published by Jeff Berry and is closer to the regular Daiquiri. If you do blend it, keep it to three to five seconds: long enough to combine, short enough to avoid making a slush.
Making Don's Special Daiquiri for a group
For eight glasses, mix 24 cl Jamaican rum, 12 cl Cuban rum, 12 cl passion fruit syrup, 12 cl lime juice, and 12 cl honey syrup in a bottle or pitcher. Chill the mixture and juice the limes no more than a few hours in advance. When serving, blend 18 cl of the mixture at a time, enough for two glasses, with two scoops of crushed ice for a few seconds. If you don't have a blender, shake it for two glasses at a time. Prepare the passion fruit halves in advance, cut side up, so garnishing goes quickly.
Frequently asked questions
What is Don's Special Daiquiri?
A tiki version of the Daiquiri, created by Donn Beach. It combines gold Jamaican rum and Cuban rum with passion fruit syrup, lime, and honey, briefly blended with crushed ice. The drink is fresh and tropical, while remaining recognizably a Daiquiri.
What is in Don's Special Daiquiri?
According to the IBA: 3 cl gold Jamaican rum, 1.5 cl Cuban rum, 1.5 cl passion fruit syrup, 1.5 cl fresh lime juice, and 1.5 cl honey syrup. Blend everything with crushed ice for a few seconds and garnish with half a passion fruit.
Can I shake Don's Special Daiquiri instead of blending it?
Yes. Shake all the ingredients with ice for twelve seconds and pour them over crushed ice, or strain them into a coupe for a more compact version without ice. Shaking gives it slightly more texture than briefly blending; the flavor remains virtually the same.
Which glass do you use for Don's Special Daiquiri?
The IBA describes a glass with a rounded bowl on a short stem, filled with crushed ice. A hurricane glass of around 44 cl comes closest to that. If you shake it and serve it without ice, a coupe is the better choice; see our daiquiri glasses.
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