Daiquiri bar celebrates 200 years
The Cuban birthplace of the world-famous daiquiri celebrated 200 years of business on Thursday.
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La Floridita in Havana is one of the country’s historic landmarks and was a regular haunt of American writer Ernest Hemingway, who was a big fan of the cocktail. The bar placed a bronze bust of their famous patron in the corner in 1954, complete with customary daiquiri in hand. He is reported to once have put away 13 double daiquiris in one sitting.
The bar has been a popular destination for American tourists in Cuba even before the Castro brothers assumed power. With closer ties now between the two nations, a new generation of tourists is disovering the history of this renowned drinking spot for themselves.
International bartenders gathered to celebrate the success of the bar and toast the event with a few of those iconic drinks.
A legendary barman in his own right, the original daiquiri of rum, lime, sugar and shaved ice with a few shakes of maraschnio liquor was created by the bar’s former owner Constantino Ribalaigua Vert in 1918.