Many first encounters with the Daiquiri involve a highlighter-hued slush piled high in a frosty Margarita glass (or depending on where you are, pulled straight from a slushy machine into a Styrofoam cup). But Daiquiris of yesteryear aside, the drink’s pared-down construction does lend itself to juicy, fruit-forward riffs—without the brain freeze.
It can be as simple as a Pineapple Daiquiri, in which the usual trio of rum, lime and sweetener gets an added touch of tropical escapism, or as layered as the Jakartian Peardition, in which funky Batavia arrack meets rich pear brandy, bittersweet grapefruit juice and spiced syrup. In the flexible format, pretty much any fruit goes, strawberry to avocado. Here are some of our favorites.