July 19th is National Daiquirí Day, honoring a rum drink conceived by a mining engineer on a hot Cuban evening in 1898.

Here’s the history of the Daiquirí—named after the town in which it was created—as well as the original Daiquirí recipe.

The Frozen Daiquirí never took off the way the Frozen Margarita has. While it can be made in a blender with ice like any frozen drink, it is more like granita than the velvety-smooth purée that pours forth from a frozen drink machine.

Nor, do we have room in our small apartment to store a frozen drink machine. (But if you do, you can have one for a few hundred dollars—photo #1.)

While there’s nothing like a frozen drink poolside, we also like it as a light summer dessert.

Lacking said frozen drink machine, we’ve had to take the “granita” approach, crushing ice in a blender.

But Ciao Bella suggests another approach: Mix sorbet into your drink. The result: splendid!

You can use any flavor of sorbet. While the most popular frozen drink flavors might be mango or strawberry, we’re particularly fond of Ciao Bella’s Blueberry Passionfruit, Blood Orange (photo #3), and Peach Sangria. (O.K., the mango and strawberry are also great.)

Here’s Ciao Bella’s recipe. If you want a different flavor, e.g. blueberry or mango, use the corresponding fresh fruit and sorbetto.

If you want more sorbet than the recipe calls for, go ahead!
 
 
RECIPE: FROZEN STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRÍ

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. WHISK the ingredients together inn a chilled mixing glass (we kept ours in the freezer until ready to mix).

2. POUR into a serving glass, garnish and serve. If you prefer to use a blender, chill the pitcher in the freezer.
 
 
Variations

[2] If your heart’s desire is a frozen drink machine, you can have one for $329 from Margaritaville Cargo.

[3] Make whatever flavor you like, matching the sorbet to the fresh fruit for muddling and garnish (photo courtesy Ciao Bella Gelato).