Papa's Favorite Cocktail, the Daiquiri

I've always thought of daiquiris as being big, slushy tropical drinks laced with coconut, pineapple and lots of rum, more often than not served with that prerequisite decoration for tropical cocktails, a tiny paper umbrella. Which may be a misperception, at least according to my 1981 reprint of the original 1946 Trader Vics Book of Food & Drink.

Constantino at La Florida (Hemingway is on his right).

Various sources, including Trader Vic's book, lay its origin to Cuba. Not unusually in the history of cocktails, credit for creating the drink itself seems to be clouded. Wikipedia claims its inventor was "an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox, who was in Cuba at the time of the Spanish-American War" and that it was introduced to clubs in New York City by "William A. Chanler, a U.S. congressman who purchased the Santiago iron mines in 1902."

From Who’s Who Havana Cuba magazine, July 14, 1938.

Trader Vic's sidesteps the issue of the daiquiri's creator, but refers to "Constantino of La Florida Bar in Havana [having] perfected this one and it is to his credit that this one rum cocktail competes in popularity with the old stand-bys such as Martinis, Manhattans and Old-Fashioneds." The book goes on to give four of Constantino's variations on the daiquiri, numbered 1 through 4 in turn, numbers three and four of which have instructions to "serve frappé." Though there's no mention which one Hemingway preferred, it was his favorite cocktail and legend has it that on occasion he downed a dozen in a sitting.

It then gives a recipe for the Trader Vic's daiquiri, which bears the special insignia of a tiny palm tree with a T on one side of the trunk and a V on the other. The front of the book quaintly states that "recipes so marked are original and may not be reprinted without permission from the author." So, much as I would love to share it, I won't.

Luckily for all of us, though, like Constantino, my husband Dave has created his own version of the daiquiri. A classic three-ingredients cocktail, it substitutes dark rum—we prefer Mount Gay over Bacardi or Myers's—for the usual light rum and uses demerara sugar for the simple syrup rather than cane sugar. Shake one up and see if you don't agree with Papa that it makes other people much more interesting.

Good Stuff NW House Daiquiri

2 oz. dark rum
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 oz. simple syrup (stir equal amounts demerara sugar and cold water until dissolved)

Shake with ice; strain into cocktail glass or coupe.

Cuban Getaway

If summer is fading as fast as your hopes for getting away for a tropical vacation, get yourself over to Portland's outpost of Cuban vibes, Pambiche. You'll come away with an infusion of paradisical soul, swaying to the sounds of the trés and claves, not to mention a happy belly-full of the comidas and bebidas of this island's cuisine.

The tiny restaurant is usually packed to the gills, and who wants to sit inside on a summer day anyway? So grab a seat at one of the colorful picnic tables on either side of the colonnaded walkway in front of the restaurant and take a gander at the several-page menu. Proud of its native cuisine, you'll have a hard time choosing based on the delicious descriptions. You're pretty safe, though, since I can't say I've had a bad meal here, but have enjoyed several memorable ones.

For lunch the other day, my dining companion and I each ordered a fresh lemonade to sip while we pondered our options. She went with the Ajiaco (pron. ah-hee-AH-coh), a "one-pot meal that comes brimming with a variety of tropical roots and vegetables, corn dumplings and Creole-seasoned pork and beef" (right), a flavorful stew of the aforementioned ingredients that has a slightly fruity undertone and a deep, rich broth.

I decided on the Plato Cubano (left), a dish the menu describes as a "typical Cuban plate. Adobo marinated roast pork, served with your choice of Cuban beans [black or red] and rice." The kind of authentic, simple, well-executed food I absolutely love, the pork was tender and juicy with a salsa verde that added pungency and that south-of-the-border hit. The beans were perfectly spiced with just the right mixture of Creole seasonings, giving it that mysteriously addictive quality that only a great bean dish has.

With a happy hour (from 2 till 6 pm) and late hours and breakfast on the weekends, this is a spot I'd happily go any time of the day or night. And how many places can you say that about?

Details: Pambiche, 2811 NE Glisan St. Phone 503-233-0511.