Hemingway's Drinks: Daiquiri, Absinthe and a Pitcher of Bloody Mary

During his years in Cuba, the bar El Floridita in Old Havana was Hemingway's regular haunt. There the bartender Constantino Ribalaigua Vert, known as Constante, made his daiquiris in one of the first electric blenders, with crushed ice.

Hemingway's version went by the name Papa Doble: a double measure of rum, no sugar syrup, and a little grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur alongside the lime. A close variant is served at the bar as the Hemingway Special, and a version of the recipe is said to have been printed as early as 1939.

The usual story is that Hemingway asked for more rum and less sugar and that Constante improvised the drink. Rum historian Wayne Curtis has pointed out that it may just as well have been Hemingway adapting to drinks the bar already made.

An often repeated explanation is that the Papa Doble had no sugar because Hemingway was diabetic. Nothing in the sources on his health supports that. The likelier explanation is simpler: he liked his drinks dry and strong.

Bear in mind that a Papa Doble without sugar is very tart. Most modern recipes, including ours for the Hemingway Daiquiri, add a little syrup for balance.

In 1935 the book So Red the Nose, or Breath in the Afternoon appeared, with well-known writers each contributing a cocktail. Hemingway's was named after his 1932 book on bullfighting.

The instructions were brief: a jigger of absinthe in a Champagne glass, top with iced Champagne until the drink reaches the proper opalescent milkiness, and drink three to five of them slowly. The last part is a joke. Absinthe is strong, and most bartenders today use far less than the original's roughly 45 ml.

In 1947 Hemingway wrote to his friend Bernard Peyton with his recipe for a Bloody Mary made in a large pitcher. The letter was later printed in the collection of his letters from 1917 to 1961.

His version: a big block of ice in the pitcher, equal parts Russian vodka and chilled tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, then celery salt, cayenne and black pepper to taste. In the same letter he joked that the drink had done more than almost anything else to bring about the fall of Hong Kong.

Hemingway did not invent the Bloody Mary. It is usually credited to Fernand Petiot at Harry's New York Bar in Paris, although that too is disputed.

Hemingway Daiquiri: shake white rum, grapefruit juice, lime juice and maraschino hard with ice and double strain into a chilled glass. Taste it, and add a dash of syrup if it is too tart.

Death in the Afternoon: pour 10 to 20 ml absinthe into a Champagne glass and slowly top with iced, dry Champagne or another dry sparkling wine. Watch it turn milky.

Bloody Mary: make it by the pitcher like Hemingway, but taste the seasoning before serving.