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Cocktail stories: Strawberry Daiquiri, The Clumsies

The Strawberry Daiquiri can get a bad rap, with some venues churning out pink, luminous, sugary creations. However, one Athens bar has turned the classic on its head.

Vasilis Kyritsis, co-founder of The Clumsies bar in Athens

“The Strawberry Daiquiri is very popular with the Greek people,” says Vasilis Kyritsis, co-­founder and co-owner of Athens bar The Clumsies. “We found that sometimes the quality of the flavour in the cocktail is not so good, so we wanted to put our own twist on it.”

To put its twist on the classic rum-­based cocktail, The Clumsies uses high quality ingredients, as much real strawberry flavour as possible and made the cocktail completely clear.

Kyritsis says: “To make our version of the Strawberry Daiquiri clear we re­-distil white rum with freeze­-dried strawberries, then mix this with a strawberry cordial that we make ourselves.”

The Clumsies’ strawberry cordial is made from sugar, citrus peels, vanilla and strawberry essential oils, adding a lot of flavour to the cocktail without putting in any colour.

“The main flavour, of course, is strawberry,” says Kyritsis. “But to highlight the whole drink we add a touch of vanilla and some more citrusy flavours, such as orange and pink grapefruit.”

Although The Clumsies has turned the Strawberry Daiquiri on its head, Kyritsis says it remains true to the classic: “In comparison with the original, you can find a lot of similarities” he says. “The balance is really close to the classic one, but the difference is that there is a lot of pure strawberry taste.”

The Clumsies unveiled its Strawberry Daiquiri six months after opening and, according to Kyritsis, it has become one of the bar’s most popular cocktails. He says: “Drinkers love it; they really love the illusion of a clear Strawberry Daiquiri and then they fall in love with the flavour.”

The cocktail has proven so popular The Clumsies has plans to release a ready­-to-drink version of its creation.

Click through to the next page for a list of ingredients and how to recreate the Strawberry Daiquiri at home. 

The Clumsies’ Strawberry Daiquiri

Ingredients:

50ml White rum re-distilled with strawberries

Sugar, vanilla and grapefruit peel

Strawberry essential oils

Method: Heat together the sugar, vanilla, and grapefruit peel with sufficient water to create a syrup; add a few drops of strawberry essential oils to taste.

Mix 40ml of your Strawberry Daiquiri cordial with the rum and hard shake until chilled.

Fine strain the cocktail into a chilled coupette glass and garnish with a strawberry meringue.

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