Rum Swizzle
Swizzle ∙ 3 min ∙ 18.8% ABV ∙
The Rum Swizzle is a Caribbean swizzle of aged rum, falernum, lime and lemon juice, and brown sugar syrup, churned over crushed ice. Crushed ice keeps it cold and lightly dilute, the rum's caramel warmth threading through bright citrus and a clove-spiced falernum sweetness to a bittered finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Swizzle with crushed ice: Caribbean aged rum 60 mlFalernum liqueur 20 mlLime juice 15 mlLemon juice 10 mlBrown sugar syrup 15 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 1 dash with a swizzle stick (or churn with a bar spoon)
- Add more crushed ice to fill
- Serve with a straw
- Garnish with a mint sprig and an orange slice
Tips
- Work the swizzle stick between your palms and move it up and down through the crushed ice until frost forms on the glass.
- For the Bermuda style, hold the dash of Angostura back and float it on top instead of swizzling it in, so its aroma hits first.
History
The Rum Swizzle is best known today as Bermuda's national drink, most closely associated with the Swizzle Inn, a pub the Outerbridge family opened in 1932 in Bailey's Bay. Working with what was locally available at the time, the Swizzle Inn's early version blended Bermudian black rum with a Barbados-style rum, citrus juices, and falernum, and the pub has since promoted itself as home of the original recipe, though rival claims persist across Bermuda.
The swizzle style itself is older and rooted further south. Writer Edward Randolph Emerson's 1909 book Beverages, Past and Present traced the swizzle to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, where it was originally a simple, diluted mix of rum and water flavored with bitters, so named for the technique of stirring it with a notched swizzle stick rather than for any particular ingredient. Other Caribbean islands, including Barbados and Trinidad, have also laid claim to the drink's invention, with swizzles recorded in the region as early as the 1870s. Bermuda's contribution was to popularize a fruitier, rum-forward version built around locally available spirits, which by the mid-20th century became fixed in the popular imagination as the Rum Swizzle.
FAQ
What is in a Rum Swizzle?
A Rum Swizzle is Caribbean aged rum, falernum liqueur, lime juice, lemon juice, and brown sugar syrup, swizzled with crushed ice and finished with a dash of Angostura bitters. It is served in a double old-fashioned glass over crushed ice and garnished with a mint sprig and an orange slice.
What makes a cocktail a swizzle?
A swizzle is defined by its method, not its ingredients: the drink is built directly in the glass over crushed ice and stirred rapidly with a swizzle stick, spun between the palms, until frost forms on the outside. This whips the crushed ice through the drink for a fast, even chill without a shaker, and more crushed ice is packed in afterward before serving with a straw, as with this Rum Swizzle.
What type of rum is best in a Rum Swizzle?
An aged Caribbean rum works best, since its caramel and spice notes stand up to the falernum and citrus rather than disappearing into them. A lighter, unaged rum makes the drink taste thinner and lets the sugar syrup dominate.
What are some variations of the Rum Swizzle?
Swizzles vary mainly by spirit and sweetener while keeping the crushed-ice, swizzle-stick method: some versions swap falernum for orgeat or a spiced syrup, use different rum styles, or add a dash of a different aromatic bitters. The core technique of churning over crushed ice until the glass frosts stays constant across variations.
