Queens Park Swizzle
Muddle; Swizzle ∙ 4 min ∙ 19% ABV ∙
The Queens Park Swizzle is a Trinidadian rum swizzle of muddled mint, lime, and brown sugar syrup, churned over crushed ice to a frosty finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- In the glass, lightly muddle: Fresh mint leaves 8 pcs
- Add the remaining ingredients: Light gold rum 60 mlLime juice 20 mlBrown sugar syrup 15 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 2 dashes
- Fill the glass 2/3 full with crushed ice
- Swizzle with a bar spoon
- Fill the glass with more crushed ice and briefly churn
- Garnish with a lime wedge and a mint sprig
Tips
- Press the mint lightly, just enough to release its oils; shred it and the drink tastes grassy and bitter.
- Some bartenders hold back the Angostura and dash it over the crushed ice at the end instead, for a red cap and a hit of spice on the nose.
History
The Queen's Park Swizzle takes its name from the Queen's Park Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad, a grand colonial-era hotel that opened in 1895 and later served the drink to well-heeled guests. It belongs to an older Caribbean tradition of swizzled drinks, made by twirling a forked stick between the palms in the glass, a technique associated with West Indies rum drinks likely dating back to the 19th century.
Popular accounts place the swizzle's creation at the hotel's bar in the 1920s, but the drink's actual paper trail is thinner and more precise. It is absent from the hotel's own souvenir recipe booklet of 1932, and it first appeared in print in Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drink in 1946, which called it a world-famous drink from the Queen's Park Hotel. Since Victor Bergeron, known as Trader Vic, visited the hotel only once, in 1938, its creation is generally narrowed to the years between 1933 and 1938. Some cocktail historians suggest Bergeron himself may have devised the published recipe as a tribute to the swizzle he had there rather than transcribing a hotel original. The hotel itself was demolished in 1996.
FAQ
What is in a Queens Park Swizzle?
60 ml light gold rum, 20 ml fresh lime juice, 15 ml brown sugar syrup, two dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters and eight fresh mint leaves, lightly muddled.
What is the best rum for a Queens Park Swizzle?
A light gold rum, as used in this recipe, gives body and a touch of molasses character without overwhelming the mint and lime. A fuller-bodied gold or aged rum can work too, but a very light white rum tends to leave the drink thin, while a heavy dark rum can mute the fresh mint and citrus.
