Put Coconut Syrup in a Daiquiri

Rum, lime, coconut, brown sugar, and a little bit of spice.

If you can make a Coconut Old Fashioned with coconut syrup, then surely you can also make a Coconut Daiquiri — right? 

Indeed you can — and you should. 

In last week’s newsletter, we made a quick, blended coconut syrup with water, demerara sugar, and coconut milk. 

It’s delicious in a whiskey/rum Old Fashioned, taking the stirred-and-boozy drink format in a summery, tiki-esque direction. 

It’s just as good — and perhaps even more straightforwardly crushable — in a Daiquiri format. 

Daiquiris are not just a staple of the cocktail world. They are widely regarded as the essential cocktail that proves the skill of a bartender, like an omelet for a chef.

With just three ingredients — rum, lime, and sugar (or syrup) — the classic Daiquiri is incredibly easy to make. 

But the drink is also notoriously difficult to make really, really well. You have to achieve the right sweet and sour balance, so that the drink is sweet enough but also pleasingly acidic and zippy. You have to produce a drink with a pleasantly fuzzy texture and a bracing chill, but you also don’t want to over-dilute it.

It’s a tough cocktail to master. 

But once you master the Daiquiri, you can take it in almost any direction you can imagine. You can tweak the sweetness, the acidity, the texture, the flavor arc.

Indeed, quite a few tiki drinks, including the Planter’s Punch, are fundamentally just Daiquiris with a little something extra — a spice element, a fruit note, or perhaps an unusual syrup. 

Like coconut syrup. 

So if you’ve still got some coconut syrup around, make a Daiquiri.

For this version, I’ve used my go-to bottle of caramely, mellow, medium-bodied, affordable Jamaican rum, Appleton Estate Signature. And I’ve added a hint of Velvet Falernum to give it a bit of a spice element. (If you don’t have Falernum, you can try a dash or two of Angostura bitters. It won’t taste exactly the same, but it will do the basic work of adding a spice note to the drink.)

The coconut syrup uses coconut milk, which gives the drink a little bit of extra texture that works especially well in a shaken drink. It’s rich, indulgent, a little bit spicy, and incredibly satisfying.

Make this drink, and you’ll feel a little bit like Tom Hanks did after finally cracking a coconut on that lonely island.

So we’ll call this cocktail…

The Castaway

• 1 tsp John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum 

• ¾ ounce quick coconut syrup*

• Fat ¾ ounce (just a shade more than ¾ ounce) fresh squeezed lime juice

• 2 ounces Appleton Estate Signature Jamaican rum

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. 

2. Add ice, then shake until thoroughly chilled, about 12 seconds. 

3. Strain into a coupe or Nick & Nora glass. 

*Quick Coconut Syrup

• 12 grams coconut milk (NOT coconut cream — sadly your open can of Coco Lopez will do you no good this week) 

• 50 grams water

• 100 grams Demerara sugar 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.

2. Blend on high for about 3-4 minutes, until fully integrated. 

3. Bottle and store in the fridge. Chill before using the first time. Keeps for a week or so.

   The Big Gal Has Never Tasted Coconut

   But she’s always happy to take a coconut-adjacent nap.