The Hemingway Daiquiri, also called the Hemingway Special, was created for Ernest Hemingway at El Floridita in Havana.
The drink developed from the Daiquiri No. 3, a house variation served at the bar. Hemingway reportedly preferred a drier, stronger version, leading to a recipe built around white rum, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and maraschino liqueur. Modern recipes often add a small amount of sugar or simple syrup to balance the grapefruit and lime.
Hemingway’s connection to El Floridita helped make the cocktail internationally famous. The bar continues to display a life-size statue of the author, and the drink remains one of the best-known cocktails associated with a literary figure.
It is sometimes called the Papa Doble, but that name is also used for a stronger, larger Hemingway-related variation. The familiar Hemingway Special is generally identified by grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur.