Don's Special Daiquiri
Don's Special Daiquiri is what Donn Beach did to a daiquiri, which is to say he split the rum, added two sweeteners instead of one, and blended it with crushed ice until it arrived cold enough to hurt. It is a tiki drink in the strict sense — Don the Beachcomber, Hollywood, the 1930s — and it is considerably more sophisticated than the format's reputation allows. Thirty millilitres of gold Jamaican rum against fifteen of Cuban is the split that defines it: the Jamaican brings funk and fruit, the Cuban brings clean body underneath. Passion fruit syrup and honey syrup then do the sweetening between them, and lime supplies the only acid. Two sweeteners in one drink sounds like a mistake and is the whole design. Neither could produce this alone, and that principle runs through everything Beach built.
Glassware: Copa Glass
Garnish: Passion Fruit half a passion fruit set on the crushed ice
Ingredients
30ml
The larger half of the split and the one you taste: pot-distilled and high in esters, bringing overripe banana and pineapple that carry through the syrups and the ice. Reverse the ratio with the Cuban and the drink goes quiet.
15ml
Column-distilled, filtered and light, and its job is to fill in underneath the Jamaican rather than to be noticed. It supplies body and a clean sweetness that stops the funk standing alone in the glass.
15ml
Sharp, tropical and acidic as well as sweet, so it works partly as a second citrus. It brightens the top of the drink where the honey weighs down the bottom, which is why both are here rather than one at double the measure.
15ml
The only acid in the build and squeezed to order. Against two sweeteners it has real work to do, and bottled lime in a drink this short is immediately obvious under the passion fruit.
15ml
Two parts honey to one of warm water, mixed in advance. Neat honey seizes into a lump the moment it meets cold liquid and no amount of blending will disperse it, which is the single most common way this drink goes wrong.
Instructions
Cut the honey syrup in advance: two parts honey to one of warm water.
Squeeze the lime immediately before building the drink.
Add both rums, the passion fruit syrup, lime juice and honey syrup to a mixer with a scoop of crushed ice.
Blend for a few seconds only, until chilled and aerated but not slushy.
Pour unstrained into a footed copo glass, top with crushed ice and set half a passion fruit on top.
Source: the IBA (Official IBA specification). Last checked 13 August 2026.
Expert Tip
Cut the honey before you start. Two parts honey to one of warm water, mixed in advance and cooled — neat honey dropped into a cold shaker seizes into a lump and stays there, and it is the single most common way this drink fails. The syrup tastes the same in the glass and disperses properly. Blend for seconds rather than minutes. The specification asks for a milkshake mixer, which agitates hard without pulverising: the drink should arrive cold, aerated and thick, with the crushed ice still partly intact. A jug blender run for the same time makes slush, which is a different and lesser drink. Do not treat the passion fruit half as decoration. The seeds and pulp are meant to be spooned into the glass as you drink, and they sharpen the last third considerably.
Flavour Profile
The Split Rum
Beach almost never used one rum, and this drink shows why in the smallest possible space.
Gold Jamaican rum is pot-distilled and high in esters: overripe banana, pineapple, a faint solvent brightness that carries through anything. Cuban rum is column-distilled, filtered and light, contributing body and sweetness without much character of its own. At two parts Jamaican to one Cuban the funk leads and the Cuban fills in underneath it, and the result is more layered than either rum manages alone.
Reverse the ratio and the drink goes quiet. Use only the Jamaican and it turns aggressive. The proportions are doing precise work.
Two Sweeteners
Fifteen millilitres each of passion fruit syrup and honey syrup, and they are not interchangeable.
Passion fruit is sharp, tropical and acidic as well as sweet, so it works partly as a second citrus. Honey is floral, heavy and rounded, and it coats the palate in a way sugar syrup does not. Together they cover a range no single sweetener reaches: the passion fruit brightens the top of the drink and the honey gives it a floor. This is the same logic as the split rum applied to sugar, and it is the most characteristic thing about Beach's recipes.
Cut the honey with warm water before it goes near the shaker. Neat honey seizes into a lump in cold liquid and stays there.
Blended, Not Shaken
The official specification calls for a few seconds in a milkshake mixer with crushed ice, which is a specific instruction rather than a loose one.
A spindle mixer — the sort used for milkshakes — agitates hard without pulverising, so the drink emerges properly chilled and aerated with the ice still partly intact. A jug blender run for the same time turns it to slush, which is a different drink. If you have neither, a hard shake with crushed ice gets close, though it will be less aerated.
Seconds, not minutes. Over-blending trades texture for water, and this is a drink that should arrive cold and thick rather than smooth.
How to Serve It
Poured unstrained into a footed copo glass and topped with more crushed ice, with half a passion fruit set on top.
The extra ice matters: the drink is served short and strong and it needs the continuing chill more than it needs the volume. The passion fruit half is a functional garnish rather than a decorative one — the seeds and pulp are edible, they are meant to be spooned into the drink as it goes down, and they sharpen the last third of the glass considerably.
Serve it immediately. A blended drink left standing separates faster than a shaken one, and this one has two syrups and a split base to come apart into.
The Spirit
Jamaican RumThe loudest rum on the shelf: pot-distilled, heavily fermented and full of the fruity, faintly solvent esters the trade calls funk. It is the rum tiki drinks are built to contain, and the one most likely to be recognisable through five other ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Don's Special Daiquiri?
A tiki daiquiri from Don the Beachcomber: gold Jamaican and Cuban rum split two to one, with passion fruit syrup, honey syrup and lime, blended briefly with crushed ice. The official specification is 30ml, 15ml, 15ml, 15ml and 15ml.
Why does it use two rums?
Because they do different jobs. The Jamaican is pot-distilled and full of fruity esters that carry through the syrups; the Cuban is light and filtered and fills in underneath. At two to one the funk leads and the Cuban supports it, which neither achieves alone.
Why two different sweeteners?
They cover a range one cannot. Passion fruit syrup is sharp and acidic as well as sweet, brightening the top of the drink; honey is floral and heavy and gives it a floor. It is the same split-and-layer logic Beach applied to the rum.
Can I shake it instead of blending?
A hard shake with crushed ice gets close and comes out less aerated. What you should avoid is a jug blender run for the same few seconds, which pulverises the ice into slush rather than agitating the drink, and makes something noticeably thinner.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits
Enjoyed This Recipe?
Explore our full collection of cocktails and discover your next favorite
Browse All Cocktails