Today is National Daiquiri Day

• goodiesfirst
• A real daiquiri is not a blended drink with strawberries or peaches.

“The 1980s ruined the reputation of the daiquiri,” says veteran bartender Shawn Moriarty, currently the featured mixologist at the Majestic Restaurant. “Before they became known as a fruity blender drink, the original daiquiri was a very light, simple cocktail of sugar, rum and lime juice. Very refreshing for hot climates, like Cuba.”

Or Kansas City during a blistering hot July, as it turns out. The first daiquiri was concocted in Cuba in the 1890s, reportedly by an American mining engineer then living near the town of Daiquiri. This true daiquiri cocktail bore absolutely no resemblence to the mushy, slushy, sweet concoction that now bears that name. Although the daiquiri was considered a sophisticated summer cocktail in the 1930s — it was a favorite of many hard-drinking celebrities, including Ernest Hemingway — its real heyday was in the 1960s. During that decade, my mother ordered daiquiri cocktails in lounges and restaurants and, more often than not, took a sip and sent it right back to the bartender.