Rum Swizzle
Encyclopedia
A Rum Swizzle is a rum
-based cocktail
often called "Bermuda
's national drink". The Royal Gazette
has referred to it as "the legendary rum swizzle...perfect for sharing and irresistible to locals and tourists alike" In addition to providing the "swizzle" portion of the 1933 swizzle stick
product name, it has been said that this potent cocktail is "as much a part of Bermuda Island culture and cuisine as is the Bermuda onion, the vibrant hibiscus
, or the graceful Bermuda Longtail
."
s have varying interpretations of this drink. One of the older recipes was presented in the 1941 Old Mr. Boston De Luxe Official Bartender Guide. Gosling's Rum, which is based in Bermuda, publishes a recipe with two different rums from their brand line. Rum, fruit juice (often including lime
, and orange
and pineapple
juice), and a flavored sweetener such as falernum
or grenadine
are the most consistent ingredients, and the drink is generally shaken or stirred with ice.
, New York
(1760), the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts
(1838), Bridgetown, Barbados (1841), Great Britain
(1862), Bridgeport, Barbados
(1908), and the island of Saint Thomas
in the U.S. Virgin Islands (1911). In these earliest versions, the drink typically consisted of one part of rum diluted with five or six parts water (sometimes with additional aromatic ingredients), which was mixed by rotating a special forked stick made from a root between the palms; another account describes it as spruce beer
with added rum and sugar.
In his 1909 book, Beverages, Past and Present: An Historical Sketch of Their Production, Brotherhood Winery
owner Edward R. Emerson asserted that Rum Swizzles originated on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts
. American naturalist and writer Frederick Albion Ober
noted in 1920 that the great drink of the Barbados
ice houses was the swizzle, a combination of liquors, sugar, and ice whisked to a froth by a rapidly revolved "swizzle-stick" made from the stem of a native plant, perhaps Quararibea turbinata
(the "swizzlestick tree") or an allspice
bush.
The etymology of the word "swizzle" is unknown, but it may derive from a similar beverage known as switchel
.
Rum Swizzles were the drink of choice at what was purportedly the world's first cocktail party
held in London, England in 1924 by novelist Alec Waugh
. A reference to a (possibly fictitious) "Green Swizzle" drink dates to 1925 (see "Other Swizzles" below). The Rum Swizzle is also mentioned in Sinclair Lewis
's 1925 novel Arrowsmith
, which is set in the fictional Caribbean island of St. Hubert. In 1930, the drink was referenced in a book written by Joseph Hergesheimer
, which refers to the drink containing Bacardi
rum and bitters
, as well as a swizzle stick made of sassafras
. The Rum Swizzle was also mentioned in the 1931 autobiographical novel Half a Loaf, penned by Sinclair Lewis's former wife Grace Hegger Lewis about their life together.
Today the Rum Swizzle is often associated with The Swizzle Inn of Bailey's Bay
, Bermuda
, whose motto is "Swizzle Inn, Swagger Out." The Swizzle Inn is known as "the home of the Rum Swizzle" and as noted by the Bermuda Hotel Association:
Swizzle (made with Jamaica
n rum and hot water), the Kona
Swizzle (incorporating almond
syrup
), and the Martinique
Swizzle (flavored with Herbsaint
, Pernod or anisette
). According to that guide:
The Spirit of Bermuda cookbook
says that the "Bermuda swizzle stick" with which this drink is traditionally stirred and garnished is a three-pronged stick often cut from an allspice
bush. The Green Swizzle, a drink for which the recipe "has been lost in history" (if it ever existed) is mentioned by Bertie Wooster
in "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy" by P. G. Wodehouse
:
The Trader Vic's guide quoted above also has a recipe for a Green Swizzle (this one incorporating green crème de menthe
) but specifies it is "not what Bertie (Wooster) had at Wembley
."
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
-based cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
often called "Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
's national drink". The Royal Gazette
The Royal Gazette
The Royal Gazette, founded in 1828, is the only daily newspaper in the island nation of Bermuda. It is published Mondays through Saturdays; there is no Sunday edition....
has referred to it as "the legendary rum swizzle...perfect for sharing and irresistible to locals and tourists alike" In addition to providing the "swizzle" portion of the 1933 swizzle stick
Swizzle stick
Swizzle sticks are small sticks placed in cocktails to hold fruit or stir the drink. Commonly made of plastic, the swizzle portion of the swizzle stick name originated from the Caribbean cocktail, Rum Swizzle....
product name, it has been said that this potent cocktail is "as much a part of Bermuda Island culture and cuisine as is the Bermuda onion, the vibrant hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
, or the graceful Bermuda Longtail
White-tailed Tropicbird
The White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans...
."
Recipes
Different bartenderBartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
s have varying interpretations of this drink. One of the older recipes was presented in the 1941 Old Mr. Boston De Luxe Official Bartender Guide. Gosling's Rum, which is based in Bermuda, publishes a recipe with two different rums from their brand line. Rum, fruit juice (often including lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
, and orange
Orange juice
Orange juice is a popular beverage made from oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate...
and pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
juice), and a flavored sweetener such as falernum
Falernum
Falernum is a sweet syrup used in Caribbean and tropical drinks. It contains flavors of almond, ginger and/or cloves, and lime, and sometimes vanilla or allspice. It is used in cocktails in a manner similar to orgeat syrup or drunk on the rocks. The syrup form can be alcoholic or nonalcoholic...
or grenadine
Grenadine
Grenadine is traditionally a red syrup. It is used as an ingredient in cocktails, both for its flavor and to give a reddish/pink tinge to mixed drinks. "Grenadines" are also made by mixing the syrup with cold water in a glass or pitcher, sometimes with ice....
are the most consistent ingredients, and the drink is generally shaken or stirred with ice.
History
Icy drink mixtures with rum, first identified as swizzles and later as Rum Swizzles, have been mentioned in literature in a variety of locations since the mid 18th century: Fort TiconderogaFort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(1760), the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
(1838), Bridgetown, Barbados (1841), Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
(1862), Bridgeport, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
(1908), and the island of Saint Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
in the U.S. Virgin Islands (1911). In these earliest versions, the drink typically consisted of one part of rum diluted with five or six parts water (sometimes with additional aromatic ingredients), which was mixed by rotating a special forked stick made from a root between the palms; another account describes it as spruce beer
Spruce beer
Spruce beer is a beverage flavored with the buds, needles, or essence of spruce trees. Spruce beer can refer to either alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages....
with added rum and sugar.
In his 1909 book, Beverages, Past and Present: An Historical Sketch of Their Production, Brotherhood Winery
Brotherhood Winery
The Brotherhood Winery is commonly acknowledged to be the oldest operating winery in the United States. It is located in Washingtonville, New York, a community in the Hudson Valley, and produced its first commercial vintage in 1839. In 2000 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places...
owner Edward R. Emerson asserted that Rum Swizzles originated on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
. American naturalist and writer Frederick Albion Ober
Frederick Albion Ober
-Biography:Ober was born February 13, 1849 in Beverly, Massachusetts. From 1862 to 1866 he had an occupation as shoemaker. Subsequently he attended the Massachusetts Agricultural College but due to the lack of funds he was forced to leave the college after a short time. From 1867 to 1870 he worked...
noted in 1920 that the great drink of the Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
ice houses was the swizzle, a combination of liquors, sugar, and ice whisked to a froth by a rapidly revolved "swizzle-stick" made from the stem of a native plant, perhaps Quararibea turbinata
Quararibea turbinata
Quararibea turbinata, also known as the Swizzlestick Tree, is an aromatic plant native to such Caribbean locales as Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the...
(the "swizzlestick tree") or an allspice
Allspice
Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
bush.
The etymology of the word "swizzle" is unknown, but it may derive from a similar beverage known as switchel
Switchel
Switchel, also switzel, swizzle, ginger-water, haymaker's punch or switchy, is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar, and often seasoned with ginger. Honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup were sometimes used to sweeten the drink instead of molasses. In the U.S...
.
Rum Swizzles were the drink of choice at what was purportedly the world's first cocktail party
Cocktail party
A cocktail party is a party where cocktails are served. Women may choose to wear what has become known as a cocktail dress.Although many believe the inventor of the cocktail party to be Alec Waugh of London, who in 1924 found a need for this pleasant interlude before a dinner party, an article in...
held in London, England in 1924 by novelist Alec Waugh
Alec Waugh
Alexander Raban Waugh , was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher...
. A reference to a (possibly fictitious) "Green Swizzle" drink dates to 1925 (see "Other Swizzles" below). The Rum Swizzle is also mentioned in Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
's 1925 novel Arrowsmith
Arrowsmith (novel)
Arrowsmith is a novel by American author and playwright Sinclair Lewis that was published in 1925. It won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Lewis but he refused to accept it. Lewis was greatly assisted in its preparation by science writer Dr. Paul de Kruif, who received 25% of the royalties on sales, but...
, which is set in the fictional Caribbean island of St. Hubert. In 1930, the drink was referenced in a book written by Joseph Hergesheimer
Joseph Hergesheimer
Joseph Hergesheimer was a prominent American writer of the early 20th century known for his naturalistic novels of decadent life amongst the very wealthy.-Biography:...
, which refers to the drink containing Bacardi
Bacardi
Bacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...
rum and bitters
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
, as well as a swizzle stick made of sassafras
Sassafras
Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
. The Rum Swizzle was also mentioned in the 1931 autobiographical novel Half a Loaf, penned by Sinclair Lewis's former wife Grace Hegger Lewis about their life together.
Today the Rum Swizzle is often associated with The Swizzle Inn of Bailey's Bay
Hamilton Parish, Bermuda
Hamilton Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It was renamed for Scottish aristocrat James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton when he purchased the shares originally held in the Virginia Company by Lucy, Countess of Bedford.It is located in the northwest of the island chain, and is...
, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, whose motto is "Swizzle Inn, Swagger Out." The Swizzle Inn is known as "the home of the Rum Swizzle" and as noted by the Bermuda Hotel Association:
Other Swizzles
Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide presents several variant swizzle recipes including the KingstonKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
Swizzle (made with Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n rum and hot water), the Kona
Kona District, Hawaii
Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...
Swizzle (incorporating almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
syrup
Syrup
In cooking, a syrup is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals...
), and the Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
Swizzle (flavored with Herbsaint
Herbsaint
Herbsaint is a brand name of anise-flavored liquor currently produced by the Sazerac Company and originally made in New Orleans, Louisiana.Herbsaint first appeared in 1934. It was the creation of J.M. Legendre and Reginald Parker of New Orleans, who learned how to make absinthe while in France...
, Pernod or anisette
Anisette
Anisette is an anise-flavored liqueur that is consumed mainly in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. It is colorless and, unlike some other anise-based liqueurs, contains no licorice.True anisette is produced by means of distilling aniseed...
). According to that guide:
The Spirit of Bermuda cookbook
Cookbook
A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...
says that the "Bermuda swizzle stick" with which this drink is traditionally stirred and garnished is a three-pronged stick often cut from an allspice
Allspice
Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
bush. The Green Swizzle, a drink for which the recipe "has been lost in history" (if it ever existed) is mentioned by Bertie Wooster
Bertie Wooster
Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British author P. G. Wodehouse. An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club, he appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of...
in "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy" by P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
:
The Trader Vic's guide quoted above also has a recipe for a Green Swizzle (this one incorporating green crème de menthe
Crème de menthe
Crème de menthe is a sweet, mint-flavored alcoholic beverage. Its flavor is primarily derived from Corsican mint. It is available commercially in a colorless and a green version...
) but specifies it is "not what Bertie (Wooster) had at Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
."
See also
- Dark 'N' StormyDark 'N' StormyA Dark and Stormy is an alcoholic highball style cocktail popular in many British Commonwealth countries, such as Bermuda and Australia. It consists of dark rum and ginger beer over ice. It is optionally accompanied by a slice of lime...
, another iconic Caribbean cocktail sometimes referred to as Bermuda's national drink - Planter's Punch