5* STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI'S

As I have an obsession with all things "Strawberry" it stands to reason that my favourite cocktail would be a Strawberry Daiquiri (SD) and is my first choice every time....
I love a good frozen SD cocktail.

To read more about my strawberry addiction Click here
To read more about an SD cocktail  Click here

Briefly a good SD should:

• Be made and packed with finely crushed ice and not chunks of broken ice.
• It should have a good balance of sweetness versus alcohol and ultimately taste "delish"...not that I have an alcohol problem or anything, but you would be surprised how many I have sent back to the bar after questioning, whether any alcohol even made it into the glass! (If I had wanted a Strawberry "Slush Puppy" type non alcoholic drink, then I would go to the nearest shopping  mall and not to an expensive cocktail bar!) Where Strawberry Daiquiri's are concerned I will not hold back if I have a problem, much to my hubby's embarrassment.
• The glass should be tall, as this is a "long drinking" cocktail.
• The venue and ambiance is also taken into account.
• Lastly the garnish and presentation is also important, as it must be visually very appealing and tempting!

During my recent trip to Cape Town it enabled me to try out some new SD'S in new places i.e.
5 star Hotels to be precise.....but don't think because you are in a 5* establishment that the SD will be 5*, unfortunately they can present 2* cocktails and charge 5* prices.....

I tried the following three of Cape Towns many 5* hotels:

The Mount Nelson Hotel Click here to read more about this hotel
The One&Only Hotel Click here to read more about this hotel
The Cape Grace Hotel Click here to read more about this hotel

Strawberry Daiquiri cocktails generally are priced between R30 - R70.
I should also mention that all of these hotels do supply you with platter of nibbles.


The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks, north of Durban in KZN is my current
 "Top of the Strawberry Daiquiri Charts" and serves as my benchmark for all SD'S tasted....
Click here to read more about this hotel

This cocktail ticks all my personal boxes,is consistently good and never fails to deliver. The setting and ambiance of this hotel in my opinion is stunning and a hard one to beat!...This is however the most expensive of all the cocktails that I have ever tasted in South Africa and has recently jumped up to R70, so I may rate it as my no.1, but they should be careful not to over price my fave drink.....as R70 is steep no matter how good!

Oyster Box Hotel R70

Now! I have told you about my "best" SD, so let me now reveal one of my "worst" SD'S ever!
I had such high hopes that this hotel would deliver an excellent cocktail and even maybe a contender for the no.1 spot,but unfortunately the opposite was the case....

The One&Only Hotel presented me with a 2 star SD, the glass was not, in my experience correct, the drink had a slightly sour taste and the "cherry on the top" for me was the lemon garnish...in fact a cherry would have been better on the top. I was quite taken aback with the lemon garnish and thought it strange,so I decided to ask the Food & Beverage Manager if this was the norm or had they run out of strawberries? At this point my hubby made a quick exit to the little boys room! Thanks Love!!
His response was very vague and when I asked if he thought a strawberry would be more appropriate to garnish a cocktail of the same name? I was told that is how the One&Only garnish their Strawberry Daiquiri's.
The bar in the main reception area of the hotel is large and very open and I thought lacked atmosphere and to be honest could have been a bar in any hotel....not what I expected!
If however you are looking for a short,sour tasting and lemon garnished Strawberry Daiquiri in a mediocre setting, then the much acclaimed One&Only Hotel is the place to go!

The One&Only Hotel R50

The Cape Grace Hotel is where we spent a beautiful sunny afternoon lunching and drinking with wonderful views of Table Mountain and the expensive yachts on the V&A Waterfront. This was a good SD, but not really any competition for the top spot.

The Cape Grace Hotel R50

The Mount Nelson Hotel has been no. 2 on my chart for a year or more, as I always like to visit this majestic grand hotel when in Cape Town. The mix of sweetness and alcohol is definitely "delish' and the Planet Bar is a great setting to have a cocktail. The nibbles are great,especially the "home" or should I say "hotel" made roasted nut and seed mix...

The Mount Nelson Hotel R55

I will continue my search for the best SD, unless I decide to change to another cocktail...mmm let me think about that one for a moment....yes thought about it and Strawberry Daiquiri's are still the drink for me, so the quest continues to find an SD to knock the Oyster Box off its number 1 position continues,

but until then its still "My Best".