The Green Swizzle cocktail was popular between 1890s and the 1930s during a period when the grand hotels of the Caribbean, such as the Queen’s Park Hotel in Trinidad, were in their prime. This drinks legendary status is partly due to its featuring in The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy by P.G. Wodehouse. Bertie Wooster sings its praises after enjoying a few at the Panter’s Bar of the West Indian stand at the 1924 British Empire Exposition at Wembley, London.
INGREDIENTS
- 45 ml/ 1 ½ oz. light Rum
- 10 ml/ ⅓ oz. Overproof Rum
- 5 ml/ ⅙ oz. green Absinthe
- 25 ml/ ⅚ oz. Falernum
- 15 ml/ ½ oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
- 5 ml/ ⅙ oz. crème de menthe (green)
- 3 dashes of Angostura bitters
METHOD
- Pour all ingredients (except the Angostura) into chilled glass two-thirds filled with crushed ice.
- Swizzle with swizzle stick (or churn with a barspoon).
- Add more crushed ice to fill the glass.
- Crown with 3 dashes Angostura bitters over the drink’s ice cap, a lime wedge and mint sprig.
- Serve with straws.
NOTES
To prepare a Green Swizzle, it’s best to use an authentic swizzle stick. Real swizzle sticks are long stems snapped off a tree native to the Caribbean, and feature multiple prongs that stick out horizontally. When spun rapidly between your hands inside a cold cocktail, the swizzle stick will create a thick layer of frost on the outside of a glass – the sign of a perfect swizzle.
SHOPPING LIST
- Bacardi white rum | USA* | UK* | Germany*
- Absinthe | USA | UK* | Germany*
- Falernum | USA | UK* | Germany*
- Crème de menthe (green) | USA | UK* | Germany*
- Angostura bitters | USA* | UK* | Germany*
- Glasses | USA* | UK* | Germany*
