Updated on: 6/3/2025
The Hemingway Special: Story, Culture, and Recipe
Few cocktails are as closely tied to a single legend as the Hemingway Special. Known across the world, this crisp and aromatic drink reflects the larger-than-life persona of its namesake—Ernest Hemingway—and captures both an era and a place. To truly understand the Hemingway Special, it's essential to explore the man behind it, the bar that became his second home, and the shifting sands of early 20th-century cocktail culture in Havana.
Ernest Hemingway: Adventurer, Writer, and Bon Vivant
Ernest Hemingway arrived in Cuba in the early 1930s and quickly became intertwined with Havana’s lively nightlife. Famously direct in his tastes—both literary and culinary—Hemingway gravitated to bold, dry cocktails and strong spirits, avoiding excessive sweetness. His affinity for bars like El Floridita earned him both notoriety among local bartenders and a lasting place in cocktail lore.
El Floridita: Havana’s Cathedral of Cocktails
El Floridita, founded in 1817, became a hub for literary expats, artists, and bon vivants throughout the early 20th century. “La Cuna del Daiquirí” (The Cradle of the Daiquiri) was its nickname, thanks to the bar’s world-class bartenders who perfected and creatively evolved countless daiquiri variations. Its red-and-brass Art Deco bar became a kind of unofficial office for Hemingway, whose presence there is commemorated by a bronze statue today.
A Daiquiri with a Twist: Creation of the Hemingway Special
While Hemingway is linked to several cocktails—a Bourbon-based concoction at Sloppy Joe’s, the Death in the Afternoon—his true signature was a bespoke daiquiri. He requested his daiquiris at El Floridita with double the rum, no sugar, and extra lime. Bartender Constantino Ribalaigua Vert experimented with grapefruit juice and a hint of maraschino liqueur to balance the austerity, ultimately crafting what became known first as the “Papa Doble,” then the "Hemingway Special".
- The Papa Doble: Hemingway’s original, featuring 120 ml white rum, 60 ml lime juice, and no sugar.
- Hemingway Special: A softened take—white rum, fresh lime, grapefruit, and maraschino liqueur—which survived prohibition of added sugar for Hemingway’s palate.
The Hemingway Special thus celebrated the dry, tart, and botanical side of the classic daiquiri, while the addition of maraschino offered subtle roundness and fruit complexity.
Hemingway Special Cocktail Recipe (Classic Version)
- 60 ml white rum
- 30 ml fresh grapefruit juice
- 20 ml fresh lime juice
- 15 ml maraschino liqueur
- Optional: 5–10 ml simple syrup, for a softer edge
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake hard until thoroughly chilled.
- Fine strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass.
- Garnish with a lime wheel, avoiding elaborate decorations.
Legacy and Modern Interpretations
The Hemingway Special remains a pillar in rum cocktail canon—celebrated by bartenders for its clean, sophisticated profile and short list of classic ingredients. Versions today can be dialed sweet or dry, but purists maintain the drier, citrus-driven edge as a nod to Hemingway’s palate. El Floridita continues to pour this drink for travelers, writers, and cocktail enthusiasts from around the world, preserving the ritual and taste of midcentury Havana in every coupe.