Aug. 04--C'mon and swizzle it, just a little bit.
When hot weather drives you to drink, be sure to make a pit stop at the swizzle. Unlike most cocktail genres, the swizzle is named for the technique used to make it. In the late 18th and early 19th century, expats and hotel guests in the British and French West Indies enjoyed a refreshing mix of liquor, ice and bitters hand-twirled by the barkeep in a tall glass with a swizzle stick, known in the Caribbean as a bois lele.
The tall, pronged wooden tool cut from the local tree known botanically as Quararibea turbinata is critical to the icy-ness and frothy-ness of the cocktail; when a bartender rapidly spins the stick back and forth between his or her palms, it creates frost on the glass and a pleasing froth on top.
Vigorous swizzling has since been embraced by the Tiki cocktail culture -- the building blocks are a sweet, fruity element; a bitter; and plenty of booze, most often rum or bourbon.
In Charleston, S.C., partner and beverage director Brent Sweatman opened The Americano with a fruity Jungle Bird Swizzle on the cocktail list to underscore the Latin flavors on the food menu. "The Jungle Bird is classic Tiki from 1978 in Malaysia," Sweatman said, "and we turned it into a swizzle to increase the wow factor." The combination of aged rum, fresh pineapple (power-juiced in house), Campari, agave and lime reflects classic Caribbean flavors that are enhanced by the swizzle technique.
"I love crushed ice," Sweatman said, "and you can't shake it, 'cause it gets watered down."
At Chicago's Scofflaw, co-owner and beverage director Danny Shapiro always keeps a swizzle on the menu. "We have embraced Tiki since the beginning," Shapiro said. "It's about finding your own island, and a swizzle can take you to a different escape."
The off-menu Swizzle #3 is Scofflaw's most popular. Featuring Death's Door gin, Lillet, Falernum and passion fruit, it represents the bitter, boozy, fruitiness of swizzles at their best.
Lisa Futterman is a freelance writer.
Jungle Bird Swizzle
Get a swizzle stick made from hand-harvested wood ($17.95) at www.cocktailkingdom.com.
2 ounces aged rum
2 ounces freshly squeezed pineapple juice
1/2 ounce Campari
1/4 ounce lime juice
1/4 ounce agave
Combine all ingredients in a Collins glass with crushed ice. Swizzle with swizzle stick; garnish with a pineapple wedge and serve.
Scofflaw's Swizzle #3
1 1/2 ounces gin
1 ounce passion fruit syrup (store-bought)
1/2 ounce Lillet Blanc
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 ounce Falernum
Combine all ingredients in a Collins glass with crushed ice. Swizzle with swizzle stick; garnish with a mint sprig and serve.
