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| The Swizzle Inn Bailey's Bay Bermuda |
The Rum Swizzle is the "National Drink of Bermuda", but it's history is a bit cloudy like most of the really good cocktails. Swizzles have appeared in literature since the late 1700's from places like Fort Ticonderoga, New York, Saint Kitts and Great Britain, Bridgetown, Barbados in the mid 1800's, as well as St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands in the early 1900's. These early versions of the swizzles were typically mixed with a v shaped stick that was rotated with the palms of your hands. Most of the swizzles contained rum diluted with water and some aromatic ingredients added.
Today's Rum Swizzle is said to have been created at the Swizzle Inn in 1932 and so they say the "rest is history". The motto of the Swizzle Inn is "Swizzle Inn, Swagger Out", and also known as the "Home of the Rum Swizzle". Different bartenders like all another cocktails have different interpretations of the Rum Swizzle, but most of them have Gosling Black Seal Rum, a Gosling Barbados Rum (One that I haven't been able to find in the U.S.) fruit juices ( Orange, Pineapple, and Lime) and a flavored sweetener like falernum or grenadine. The drink is often make in a "pitcher" batch and then strained into a cocktail glass with an orange and cherry garnish.
There seem to be a few recipes out there in publication, but the Original from The Swizzle Inn seems to be the most realistic.
Rum Swizzle
- 4 oz. Gosling's Black Seal Rum
- 4 oz. Gosling Barbados Rum
- Juice of 2 Lime Juice
- 5 oz. Pineapple Juice
- 5 oz. Orange Juice
- 2 oz. Bermuda falernum
- 6 dashes Angostura Bitters
Mix in a pitcher with crushed ice, shake vigorously until a frothing head appears. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a orange slice and a cherry. ( Serves 6)
A later version sourced from
Gosling Brothers Ltd.:
Bermuda Rum Swizzle
- 2 oz. Dark Rum
- 1 oz. Lime Juice
- 1 oz. Pineapple Juice
- 1 oz. Orange Juice
- 1/4 oz. Falernum
Shake all ingredients wit Ice and strain into an ice filled highball glass, and garnish with an orange and a cherry.
There are other recipes that use simple syrup or grenadine to substitute for the falernum, but those ingredients are not the same. There is really no substitute for the falernum. Falernum is rather hard to find, but it is available as an alcoholic (J. D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum) or a non-alcoholic (Fee's Falernum Syrup) version, and either will make a fine drink. This is another of the classic cocktails that can be done with relative ease at home or be made in the bar for your enjoyment. Stop by your favorite tropical bar and ask for one, it they don't have the recipe, you do so show them so they can make it for you. ;o)
