Bermuda Rum Swizzle

Name: Bermuda Rum Swizzle
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: Light gold rum — 30 ml (1 oz); Dark rum — 30 ml (1 oz); Falernum liqueur — 20 ml (2/3 oz); Pineapple juice — 30 ml (1 oz); Orange juice (freshly squeezed) — 30 ml (1 oz); Pink grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed) — 15 ml (1/2 oz); Lime juice (freshly squeezed) — 15 ml (1/2 oz); Lemon juice (freshly squeezed) — 7.5 ml (1/4 oz); Angostura aromatic bitters — 2 dashes

Swizzle ∙ 3 min ∙ 12.8% ABV ∙

Bermuda's national cocktail, the Rum Swizzle blends two rums and falernum with a mix of citrus and pineapple juices, swizzled over crushed ice. Tart citrus and ripe pineapple lead, with the two rums and spiced falernum warming underneath — a frothy, refreshing drink built for a beach afternoon.

Ingredients

Servings

Garnish

Instructions for 1 serving

Pre-chill a glass
Pour the ingredients into the chilled glass: Light gold rum 30 mlDark rum 30 mlFalernum liqueur 20 mlPineapple juice 30 mlOrange juice 30 mlPink grapefruit juice 15 mlLime juice 15 mlLemon juice 7 1/2 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 2 dashes
Fill the glass 2/3 full with crushed ice
Swizzle with a swizzle stick or churn with a bar spoon
Fill the glass with more crushed ice and repeat
Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry on a skewer

Tips

Pack the highball with crushed ice, then swizzle vigorously with a bar spoon or swizzle stick until frost forms on the glass, roughly 15-20 seconds.
Build the two rums, falernum, and all five juices directly over the crushed ice so dilution happens during swizzling, not before.
Squeeze the orange, grapefruit, lime, and lemon juices fresh just before building; bottled juices flatten the layered citrus balance this swizzle relies on.
Float the Angostura dashes on top after swizzling so the aromatic bitters sit visibly on the crushed ice rather than blending in.

History

The rum swizzle traces to old Caribbean "swizzle" drinks, iced rum punches whisked to a froth with a forked "swizzle stick" cut from a native plant, a practice recorded in the West Indies since the 18th century. Sources differ on where the swizzle itself first arose, with early written claims pointing variously to Saint Kitts and to the ice houses of Barbados, while similar rum-and-stick drinks were also noted in Fort Ticonderoga, New York, and elsewhere from the mid-1700s onward. The Bermuda Rum Swizzle, now promoted as the island's national drink, is generally traced to 1932, when the Swizzle Inn opened in Bailey's Bay, Bermuda, and began serving its version made with local Gosling's rum blended with a Barbados rum and the fruit juices on hand at the time. That pub still markets itself as the drink's birthplace, though other Caribbean islands, including Saint Kitts and Barbados, have also claimed credit for the broader swizzle tradition it draws on. The Bermuda version distinguishes itself from other regional rum swizzles mainly through its house blend of Bermudian and Caribbean rums with a mix of citrus and pineapple juices, sweetened traditionally with falernum.