Seven Swans A-Swimming, a Hemingway Daiquiri

LoBar Cocktail Services’s  “seven swans-a-swimming” cocktail for our Twelve Days of Christmas series begins with a classic Hemingway Daiquiri. Ernest Hemingway, who lived on the coast of the Florida Keys, is the inspiration for the Hemingway Daiquiri. He preferred a double-rum in his Floridita Daiquiri in Cuba. (You can still visit the Floridita bar in Havana, and order a daiquiri there.) Since ole Ernie was not the type of person to order just one cocktail, he ordered it enough times that the Hemingway Daiquiri became its own cocktail. For another take on the daiquiri, try our Easy Strawberry Daiquiri recipe.

Seven Swans a-Swimming?

Legend has it that the seven swans in the “Twelve Days of Christmas” lyrics represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in Christianity. There’s another reading, which is that swans were “luxury goods, a medieval Gucci handbag, if you will,” as historian Professor Kate Williams writes. In 1251, Henry III ordered 125 swans for the Christmas feast for his court. While we can’t promise 125 swans, or even seven, this Hemingway Daiquiri is a luxurious drink to sip. Also, if you’re not feeling good about the holiday carols getting stuck in your head, check out folk musician Sufjan Stevens’s 2004 album Seven Swans. It will free your mind a bit.

Seven Swans A-Swimming, a Hemingway Daiquiri

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• Author: Lo Bar Cocktail Services

Print Recipe

Description

This gorgeous cocktail has a luxurious, tropical flair.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the cocktail:

• 1 oz rum
• 1 oz grapefruit + bay leaf syrup
• 1 oz lime
• Garnish with grapefruit slice and bay leaf

Grapefruit and bay leaf syrup:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup water
• Zest of 1/2 grapefruit
• 2 bay leaves

 

 

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Instructions

For the cocktail:

1. Shake all ingredients in cocktail shaker.
2. Strain, pour over ice in glass of your choice (if you feel like the swan glass, here is an option).

For the simple syrup: 

1. Add the sugar, water bay leaves, and grapefruit to a saucepan. Heat over medium and stir often, until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
2. Let stand until cool, then pour syrup into a small jar or other airtight container.

 

Check out the rest of our “Twelve Days of Christmas” cocktails or make the whole set!

Recipe by Aubrey & Lisa of Lo Bar Cocktail Services
Styling by Anna FranklinPhotography by Laura Petrilla 

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