Jungle Bird
Tropical with a bitter heart.
Dark rum, Campari and pineapple: an unusual meeting between the tiki world and Italian bitterness. The result is fruity and rounded, with a bitter finish that makes it surprisingly dry.
- IBA · New Era
- Aperitif
- Shaken
- Glass
- Rocks glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Strength
- Medium
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- Cubes
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Blackstrap rum
45 ml
-
Campari
22.5 ml
-
Pineapple juice
45 ml
-
Lime juice
15 ml
-
Demerara sugar syrup
15 ml
Garnish
- Pineapple slice
Proportions
How to make
- Pour the blackstrap rum into the shaker.
- Add the Campari.
- Add the pineapple juice.
- Add the lime juice.
- Add the demerara syrup.
- Fill the shaker with ice.
- Shake well.
- Fill a rocks glass with ice.
- Strain into the glass.
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge.
The story
Origins
ProbableA plausible account, without definitive proof.
The Jungle Bird was born in Kuala Lumpur at the Hilton's Aviary Bar, named after the birds kept in an aviary beside the pool. It is credited to beverage manager Jeffrey Ong, who reportedly created it as a welcome drink: Difford's Guide ties it to the hotel's opening in July 1973, while other sources say around 1978. The earliest known printed recipe appears in John J. Poister's New American Bartender's Guide in 1989, with more pineapple and served in a bird-shaped vessel or a hurricane glass. Jeff "Beachbum" Berry republished it in his book Intoxica!, bringing it back to bartenders' attention; in Malaysia it is now regarded almost as a national cocktail.
Sources (3)
- Difford's Guide — Jungle Bird (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- IBA — Jungle Bird (opens in a new tab) recipe
- Punch — Jungle Bird (opens in a new tab) history
Taste profile
- Fruity
- 4 out of 5
- Bitter
- 3 out of 5
- Sweet
- 2 out of 5
- Sour
- 2 out of 5
