Ingredients
Cocktail
- 45 mldark blackstrap or aged Jamaican rum
- 15 mlCampari
- 45 mlfresh pineapple juice, unsweetened
- 15 mlfresh lime juice
- 15 mlsimple syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water)
Ice and glass
- Cubed ice, for shaking
- Crushed or cracked ice, to fill
- 1double old fashioned glass, or a tiki mug
Garnish
- 1pineapple wedge
- 1pineapple leaf
- 1cocktail cherry, optional
Directions
- Chill the glass by filling it with ice and a splash of water while you build the drink.
- Juice the pineapple fresh if you possibly can. Tinned juice is sweeter, duller and lacks the acidity that holds the Campari in balance; if you use it, cut the simple syrup to 7 ml.
- Squeeze the lime to order. Lime juice loses its bright top note within about twenty minutes of squeezing.
- Combine the rum, Campari, pineapple juice, lime juice and simple syrup in a shaker tin.
- Fill with cubed ice, seal, and shake hard for 10–12 seconds, until the tin frosts and your hand aches. The pineapple juice should whip up a thick pale foam.
- Discard the ice from the serving glass and pack it with fresh crushed or cracked ice.
- Double-strain through a fine mesh strainer into the glass so no shards of shaken ice water it down further.
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge and leaf spiked on the rim, and a cherry if you want the full tiki look. Serve with a straw.
- Taste as you drink: it should open bitter-sweet, with the Campari and the funky molasses of the rum meeting in the middle, and finish dry and tart rather than syrupy.
Technique
- The Jungle Bird was created in 1978 at the Aviary Bar of the Kuala Lumpur Hilton as a welcome drink for hotel guests, and it is one of very few tiki-era classics with a documented Malaysian origin.
- The original called for a local dark rum. Modern bartenders reach for a blackstrap or a funky Jamaican pot-still rum, because the drink needs something assertive enough to stand against Campari.
- Campari is what makes this drink famous: it was one of the first tiki drinks to use an Italian bitter aperitif, and it turns what would be a sweet tropical punch into something adult and dry.
- Balance is everything. If the pineapple is very ripe and sweet, pull the syrup back; if it is sharp, add a few millilitres more.
Substitutions
- No Campari: Aperol works but is much sweeter and less bitter, so drop the simple syrup to 5 ml, or use another red bitter such as Contratto or Luxardo Bitter.
- Demerara syrup, made 2:1 with demerara sugar, deepens the drink and is a common modern tweak.
- A blended aged rum will do, but avoid light white rum, which disappears entirely.
Variations
- The Giuseppe Gonzalez 1:1:2 rework, which raised the rum and cut the sweetness, and is the version most bars now pour.
- A batched pitcher version for parties, shaken in portions and poured over crushed ice.
- A tall version lengthened with soda water for a lower-strength highball.
History
Created in 1978 by Jeffrey Ong as the welcome drink of the Kuala Lumpur Hilton’s Aviary Bar.
Frequently asked questions
What is Jungle Bird?
Jungle Bird is a cocktail from Malaysia: dark rum, Campari, pineapple juice and lime, served long over ice. Created in 1978 by Jeffrey Ong as the welcome drink of the Kuala Lumpur Hilton’s Aviary Bar.
How long does Jungle Bird take to make?
Jungle Bird takes 5 min of preparation and 0 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 cocktail. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Jungle Bird?
Yes, within limits. No Campari: Aperol works but is much sweeter and less bitter, so drop the simple syrup to 5 ml, or use another red bitter such as Contratto or Luxardo Bitter. Demerara syrup, made 2:1 with demerara sugar, deepens the drink and is a common modern tweak. A blended aged rum will do, but avoid light white rum, which disappears entirely.
What is the most important thing to get right in Jungle Bird?
Taste as you drink: it should open bitter-sweet, with the Campari and the funky molasses of the rum meeting in the middle, and finish dry and tart rather than syrupy.
