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Hey hey – we’d like to introduce you to our new monthly column! We’re really excited to share this with you.

We’ve teamed up with the cocktail masterminds behind the bar at VOLT here in Frederick, MD to bring you a simply delicious cocktail each month. Using simple and easy-to-find ingredients, each cocktail will be a piece of cake to make at home (trust us, we test each one!).

When Zach, lead bartender at  VOLT, first told us he wanted to make a classic daiquiri for the month of July, we admit….our first thought was of the frozen, sugary drinks you get at your favorite beach establishment. We were pleasantly surprised to find out what Zach had in store for us this month. Turns out a classic daiquiri has nothing to do with frozen fruit concentrate or high fructose corn syrup (phew) – Zach informed us many people are flat out making daiquiris wrong these days.

Originating in Cuba, many people have claimed credit for the creation of the daiquiri (let’s be honest, rum and lime have been going together nicely longer than PB&J). What is more interesting than who created it is who its biggest fan was – author Earnest Hemingway. This man is legendary for his appreciation of a good drink (or any drink, for that matter); see his famous quote: “I drink to make other people more interesting.” History has it that Hemingway’s daiquiri, also known as El Papa Doble, was concocted during the 30s and 40s while he was on hiatus from writing in Cuba by a bartender who manned his favorite watering hole, La Florida. El Papa Doble contained grapefruit juice, maraschino cherry, and no sugar (what a badass), but most people enjoy a little sweetness with this strong cocktail.

Without further adieu…onto the recipe!

 

Tools:

(Zach recommends the tools from Cocktail Kingdom. Oooo….shiny!)

Pint glass

Jigger

Cocktail shaker

Mesh strainer

Cocktail strainer

Juicer

Cocktail glass

 

Ingredients:

1 whole lime

Simple syrup (pre-make make using equal parts water and white sugar – boil on the stove or in the microwave)

White rum (Zach prefers white rum for a more refreshing drink – try El Dorado – but any rum you enjoy can be used. Dark rum provides a bold, caramel flavor.)

 

STEP 1

Juice 1 whole lime into a pint glass, straining through a mesh strainer to filter out pulp. When using a juicer (pictured below), cut the lime in half and then make two slits into the sides as shown – this helps get the juice out from every nook and cranny.

STEP 2

Using a jigger to measure, add the following into a cocktail shaker:

¾ oz of lime juice

½ oz of simple syrup

2 oz of white rum

STEP 3

Fill cocktail shaker to the top with ice and shake hard for 12 seconds (yes, exactly 12 seconds). Says Zach, “you can only under-shake this drink, never over-shake it.” (File this under “random bar trivia.”)

 STEP 4

Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a lime wheel. Enjoy! (Responsibly, of course.)

 

Keep an eye out for next months cocktail – it’s going to be a great one!

 

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Zach Luther is lead bartender at VOLT in Frederick, Maryland. He considers himself a purist when it comes to cocktails, leaning towards classic drinks with simple ingredients. He has been interested in making drinks for as long as he can remember – at 14, as a busboy at a local Frederick establishment, he found himself always asking questions of the bartender, curious about how to make each drink. His passion for specialty spirits was strengthened when he went to Belgium to learn more about different styles and types of beers. You can find Zach behind the bar at VOLT crafting specialty cocktails almost any day of the week.

What a fun place to have your engagement session — The Great Frederick Fair — an annual Frederick tradition since 1862! Photos by Brad Barnwell.

From the bride:

Colin and I had our first date at the Great Frederick Fair in 2000 and were both in high school at the time. We’ve grown up going to the Great Frederick Fair with family and friends and love taking in the sights, sounds, and especially the food. We try to go each year to the fair and decided this year we’d shoot our engagement photos since we were getting married in May. In fact, we held out on getting them taken just to have them taken at the fair — something different, and a place with significance to both of us.

This sunny spring-time engagement session, in a quintessential Frederick country setting, is just simply gorgeous!

From the photographer, Jenna Shriver:

This engagement session means a lot to me personally because I have been friends with both Tim and Brittney for years. I played softball with Brittney in high school and Tim and I were friends after high school. Since then, he has become best friends with my husband. When Tim told my husband and I that he started dating Brittney I literally jumped for joy! I just knew she was THE ONE for him. Brittney was living and working in Alabama at the time, but they connected when she was home visiting her family in Maryland for Christmas. They continued a long distance relationship for a few months then she made plans to move back home to Maryland. They were engaged the following Christmas and married the next Spring. Tim and I conspired on planning the photo session as a distraction for Brittney that day because we had planned her surprise shower to take place that afternoon! We were pretty sly though because she thought she planned the whole day herself. It was a typical chilly and windy early spring day, but the lighting and grounds at this estate were beautiful! We walked around the grounds and she told me all about their wedding day plans. We successfully surprised her a few hours later with her bridal shower.