Park Life Swizzle (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

When I saw that there was an Old Tom Swizzle recipe in the Death & Co. book, I had to try it. I didn't have Ransom, which is what is specified, and rather than using Vitae's mild tasting Old Tom, I went in another direction.

I know that Ransom is very malty and dank, for lack of a better word. So my choice was homemade Schiedam gin with malt whiskey infused with juniper and citrus. It was dank! This is a spicier lime juice swizzle that tastes more tropical than the Robert Johnson Swizzle. The spice comes from Angostura bitters on top, but also the ginger syrup (which I made by adding ginger brandy to my syrup). It smelled incredible. It tasted even better. The problem with swizzles, though, is that they are a pain to make and they don't last long.

Here's how it's done:

• 1 oz.  Ransom Old Tom (homemade Schiedam used)
• 1 oz. amontillado sherry
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. ginger syrup
• 6 dashes Angostura bitters
• mint sprig garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with crushed ice. Shake and pour into a chilled pilsner glass. Add more crushed ice and use a bois lele to stir and chill. Add more ice and continue stirring until the glass freezes over and the contents of the glass reach the top. Dash bitters on the ice and garnish with mint. 

Robert Johnson Swizzle (Death & Co. Recipe)

I have a bois lele (Caribbean swizzle stick) for my birthday and I'm excited to tackle the swizzle section of the Death & Co. cocktail book. Between crushing the ice and meticulous swizzling and freezing the glass, a swizzle is a lot of work. So I started by making some of the easier recipes. 

This recipe is good for people who love bourbon drinks. There's vanilla, whiskey bitters and some cirtus and fortified wine. What's not to like? 

Unfortunately I didn't have the Fee Brothers whiskey barrel-aged bitters, but that's okay considering I had all the rest. I used my vanilla vodka to flavor the simple syrup for the sweetener. And you can taste it just fine under the Peychaud's that you have to dash on top of the ice so that you smell them while sipping through the straw. 

• 2 oz. bourbon (Ancient Age used)
• 3/4 oz. tawny port (ruby used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 3/4 oz. vanilla syrup
• 2 dashes whiskey barrel-aged bitters
• 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• mint sprig garnish

Add crushed ice to a chilled Collins glass and the shaking tin. Combine all liquid ingredients in the shaker and shake to chill. Pour into the Collins glass and stir with a bois lele, adding ice and continuing to stir until the glass freezes and the contents of the glass reach the top. Dash bitters on the ice and garnish with the mint. 

 

Swizzles (Jumbly Jolt/ Skye Swizzel)

I've seen this recipe before. A combination of rum, scotch and gin as a swizzle with lime juice? That's a Skye Swizzle. The proportions are a little different, and not to this example's betterment. I ended up with a little too much ice and not enough liquid to spread around. That is perfectly fine, but I'd like the recipe to reflect that an indicate an Old Fashioned glass as the proper container. 

Like all swizzles, you need plenty of crushed ice on hand before you start mixing. I found that freezing the glass first and choosing a glass with thin walls to be very helpful. I tied on the napkin wrap (like my chicken?) first before freezing the glass so that I could take the glass out and start building the cocktail in it. Otherwise, it might be smart to chill the liquids in a shaker. But either way, put the wrap on before you start building the drink.

One final note: I chose my Dutch courage gin for the gin in this cocktail and greatly improved it over past examples that used dry gins. Look for an Old Tom style or Dutch genever like Bols to get the desired effect. My hope was that if all the spirits shared a barreling process, the flavors would come together better. I wasn't wrong!

• 1/2 oz. scotch (Teacher's used)
• 1/2 oz. Jamaican rum (Barbancourt Haitian used)
• 1/2 oz. gin (homemade Dutch courage gin used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sweet vermouth
• 1 tsp. cherry brandy (Cherry Herring used)
• maraschino cherry garnish

Build the drink in a frozen Collins glass (Old Fashioned with thin walls is preferable if you have one). Add all ingredients except for the cherry garnish and top with crushed ice. Using a swizzle stick, stir to chill the ingredients while melting the ice. As the liquor dilutes and the liquid level rises, add more ice and continue stirring until the glass is frosty and the cocktail is cooled. Add a straw and garnish with a cherry. 

Corn And Oil (Smuggler's Cove Recipe)

Corn And Oil is a recipe from Martin Cate's book on Smuggler's Cove rum drinks. According to Kate this is a traditional Barbados recipe and must be done with Barbados blended and aged rum. There's not much else to it: John D. Taylor falernum and Angostura bitters. The trick is to make a swizzle in an Old Fashioned glass. This must be done with lots of crushed ice to get that frosted glass you can see in the photo above. See the recipe below.

• 2 oz. blended and aged Barbados rum
• 1/2 oz. falernum (homemade falernum used)
• 2-4 dashes Angostura bitters

Build drink in a double Old Fashioned glass and pack to the top with crushed ice. Stir until frost forms on the outside of the glass.

Chartreuse Swizzle (Smuggler's Cove Recipe)

Let's face it. You love Chartreuse. You need at least 130 botanicals in your alpine spirit. To top it off you need falernum with all that spice and citrus just to make your drink.

Remember to used crushed ice and to put a napkin wrap on the glass. I can't understate how satisfying it is to drink from a frozen glass while holding it by a dry napkin.

• 1 1/2 oz. green chartreuse
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. falernum (homemade falernum used)

Combine all ingredients in a Collins glass wrapped with a napkin. Fill with crushed ice and stir with a Swizzle stick until half the ice melts and the liquid is cooled. Top with more crushed ice and stir again until the glass freezes over.

Kaiteur Swizzle (Smuggler's Cove Recipe)

The Kaiteur Falls in Guyana are a Niagra-scale waterfall on the Caribbean island. The Swizzle may have some of its origins--at least its preparation--in the island itself. The important part of the recipe, however, is the use of Guyana rum like Pusser's. This is a small batch pot still rum with lots of character. It's further spiced by falernum and Angostura bitters.

It is key to a Swizzle to use crushed ice and to stir using a Swizzle stick or bar spoon. Keep up the stirring and adding ice until the glass freezes over.

Another important part of preparation is the napkin wrap. Open a beverage napkin and fold two opposite corners to make an obtuse isosceles triangle. Fold the top of the short side down to create a band. Wrap and tie this band around the glass.

You can see my napkin wrap has chickens on it. Not at all inappropriate when considering that this is a Guyana drink.

• 2 oz. Pusser's Navy rum
• 1/2 oz. Falernum
• 1/2 oz. maple syrup
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters 

Combine all ingredients with crushed ice in a Collins glass. Stir with a Swizzle stick and add more ice. Continue stirring until the outside of the glass frosts over. Garnish with a mint sprig. 

Mount Gay Extra Old Swizzle

With Mount Gay Extra Old rum and these cool swizzle sticks, I wanted to make a classic Dark Rum Swizzle. There's no shaking involved, no blending, no special mugs or garnishes, just good rum, sugar and lime juice. Also, you need plenty of ice.

A good Swizzle is built in the glass with the liquid only filling the glass one quarter full and the ice going all the way to the top. Stir like mad and the drink chills as the ice melts. The sugar dissolves and you have a drink that is half-full of liquid and ice. So top with more ice and stir some more and that level of liquid rises to the top of the glass while the whole glass freezes.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Mount Gay Extra Old rum)
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar

Build drink in a Collins glass full of ice. Stir until ice melts half way. Add ice and stir until the glass freezes on the outside.

Brandy Swizzle

The only thing I love more than making swizzles is drinking them. A good swizzle is a complex arrangement of rums, lime juice, and spices stirred until it is freezing cold. Sparkling water is sometimes omitted, but most of the swizzles in the New York Bartenders Guide leave it in.

This however is a Brandy Swizzle, which oddly isn't stirred in the glass but is shaken first and strained over fresh ice. I do recommend using the swizzle stick to give the drink a turn once you add the sparkling water. It needs a little attention.

• 2 oz. brandy
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• several dashes Angostura bitters (Hella aromatic used)
• sparkling water

 Shake all ingredients except sparkling water with ice and strain over fresh ice in a Collins glass. Top with sparkling water and garnish with a swizzle stick.

Rum Swizzle (Revisited)

My idea of a swizzle involves lots and lots of stirring, no soda, and plenty of bitters--preferably made by a swizzle hawker with a stick of brush found on a beach in Barbados. This is more of a layman's swizzle that takes the name simply by having a swizzle stick. That doesn't mean it is a bad drink at all. The classic swizzle is a challenging cocktail to drink as well--it is tart, bitter, and very strong. You are better off drinking it down in a single draft and wincing through it. This is a much more approachable (touristy) swizzle.

• 2 oz. dark rum
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters (Hella Aromatic Bitters used)
• sparkling water

Combine sugar, rum, juice and bitters in a Shaker with ice Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water. Serve with a swizzle stick.

**Alternative and more authentic preparation. Combine all ingredients except sparkling water in a highball glass full of ice. Stir with a swizzle stick until the ice is melted down by half. Top with ice again and stir until the glass freezes over. Serve with swizzle stick and a side of sparkling water to drink after you shoot down the entire cocktail.

Independence Swizzle

I really enjoy a good swizzle, and this is one of the best ones. I chose (because I had a choice today) Lyon dark rum to represent the colony of Maryland for the American independence and three patriotic swizzle sticks, which are a must when serving a swizzle.

Among other adjustments to the drink, I crushed ice by hand in my shaker using a muddler, which gives you large and small ice chunks to mix the drink with. You can see how the small crushed flakes float to the top. These hold the flavor of the bitters very well, though you can't see that because I used Hella Aromatic Bitters. These have no obvious pink color like Angostura bitters do. The do go very well with rum, though, with their clove spice that makes the rum taste like a spiced rum.

• 2 oz. dark rum
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. honey
• 3-5 dashes Angostura bitters
• lime slice

Dissolve honey in a Collins glass with a splash of warm water by stirring until the honey and water are evenly mixed. Fill the glass with liquid ingredients and crushed ice and stir quickly until glass frosts over. Add more ice and stir briefly before garnishing with a lime slice.

Gringo Swizzle

I'm not sure that this drink really qualifies as a swizzle. It's really like a Mexican Singapore Sling. I was thrilled to be able to put a cute little umbrella on it, because gringos can't handle the sun.

I was also interested to try a drink that combines creme de cassis and tequila. And because it is a swizzle, I did my best to prepare it in the glass with a swizzle stick and not in a shaker.

• 2 oz. silver tequila
• 1/2 oz. creme de cassis
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• ginger ale

Combine liquor in a highball glass with plenty of ice. Stir rapidly until ice melts half-way down the glass and the liquor has risen to meet it. Add more ice and stir again until the outside of the glass is frosted. Add juices and stir slowly. Top with ginger ale. 

Rum Swizzle

Rum Swizzle: Is there any other kind? This was one drink in which the caramel sweetness of Lyon dark rum is well balanced with a lot of lime juice acidity. A swizzle requires a decent amount of stirring. Unlike other swizzles I've made, though, this one has club soda, which means you don't want to stir the finished product too much or you will lose carbonation and make the drink flat. You do want to serve it with a swizzle stick shown above as a garnish that gives the drinker something to play with.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Lyon Bijou Batch used)
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• several dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 tsp. sugar
• club soda
• lime slice
• swizzle stick 

Combine rum, lime juice, sugar and bitters in a highball glass with ice. Stir quickly with the swizzle stick and add ice while drink chills. Top with soda and garnish with lime slice and leave swizzle stick in the glass. 

Bee's Knees

So there are a lot of Bee's Knees drinks out there. The New York Bartender's Guide doesn't even list this one. Instead, theirs is an "up" drink with rum and orange juice. For most people, though, the Bee's Knees is a honey and gin drink with a dash of lemon. I made it to order at a bar, so I wasn't following any recipe. This is what I did.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 tsp. honey
• several dashes lemon juice or to taste

Stir honey and gin in a highball glass with ice until honey is dissolved. Add ice and stir until chilled. Add more ice and lemon juice and stir. (This process of adding ice and stirring in the drinking glass is similar to a swizzle, which gets the drink very cold and dilutes the liquor a little to allow the honey to dissolve.)

Apple Swizzle

This is a swizzle, which is a really cool way to serve rum. The nice thing I've found is that apple jack makes for a great dark rum substitute. There is no garnish for this recipe, but I thought a granny smith apple would be perfect to compliment the sour flavors.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1 1/2 oz. light rum
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 2-3 dashes of bitters

Mix all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Stir well until very cold. Pour into a Collins glass full of fresh ice.

Skye Swizzle

A swizzle is a cocktail served in a highball or Collin's glass that is chilled by rapidly stirring the ice as you add ingredients. Here's how to do it:

• 3/4 oz. scotch
• 3/4 oz. dark rum
• 3/4 oz. gin
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• several dashes sweet vermouth
• several dashes Cherry Heering
• cherry

Combine scotch, rum, gin and lime juice in a highball or Collin's glass full of ice. Stir quickly while the ice sinks. Top off with fresh ice and add vermouth and Cherry Heering. Stir again until the outside of the glass is frosty. Top with cherry garnish.