Citrus, cherry pit, sour
An unexpectedly complex little quaffer. Pair with a Cuban sandwich and a pageturner.
Picture Papa Hemingway in his loose white shirt, slugging back this cocktail in a goblet full of shaved ice and you have a snapshot of his life in the ’30s at El Floridita, his favorite Cuban bar. Although published versions of this popular recipe added sugar syrup, Hemingway preferred it without. He sometimes drank six to twelve of these in an afternoon, and any extra sweetness would have turned him into a hungover hummingbird the next day. At El Floridita, this drink became known as El Papa Doble, the “double Papa.” Hemingway said these cocktails “had no taste of alcohol and felt, as you drank them, the way downhill glacier skiing feels running through powder snow. . . .”
2 ounces (60 ml) white rum (Flor de Caña 4 Yr)
½ ounce (15 ml) maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
1 ounce (30 ml) fresh lime juice
½ ounce (15 ml) fresh grapefruit juice
Half grapefruit wheel, for garnish
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a grapefruit wheel on the edge of the glass.
Note: For a blended drink, add ingredients to a blender with ice and whirl until frothy.