My birthday passed last week, May 11th. Although I had a great weekend with family and those I love, there was something missing…
My JUNGLE BIRD!
This cocktail is hands down, one of my favorite drinks to enjoy. Although not seen often, and not one of the drinks that is ordered at bars very frequently, it is truly a drink that is spectacular and great to enjoy before dinner.
HISTORY
The jungle bird first appeared circa 1978 at the Kuala Lampur Hilton, in Malaysia. This drink quickly became a bartender favorite due to its use of Campari, an ingredient uncommon in tiki drinks.
The jungle bird was created at the hotel for tourists that wanted to experience a wonderful tiki drink. It is still unknown as to who was the ORIGINAL creator, just that it was at the hotel.
RECIPE
This is the recipe for the jungle bird that is as taught, and came up in history from a bartender named Guiseppe Gonzalez of PKNY NYC (now closed). My bar mentor taught me this drinka and it is wonderful. The original recipe consists of using dark Jamaican rum as the base.
1.5oz (45mL) blackstrap rum (Cruzan)
0.75oz (22mL) pineapple juice
0.5oz (15mL) lime juice
0.5oz demerara syrup
0.5oz (15mL) Campari
Shake all ingredients in a shaker with ice for about 15 seconds. Then, fine strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube in it.
Garnish: lime wedge on a skewer
Jonathan Echavarria 