{ Welcome to The } Jungle Bird

August 5, 2015

Welcome to the Jungle, we’ve got fun and games, and a lip smacking drink that will cool you down even in the tropics!

Today, Tiki has gone a little bit bitter. No, it wasn’t snubbed at the cool kids party- it got together with Campari and made this sweet, bitter and mighty tasty drink. Meet the Jungle Bird!

jungle bird // Craft & CocktailsA classic long forgotten buried under years of heavy sour mix use (yuck), the Jungle Bird is a perfectly balanced sipper. Tiki relies heavily on sweet juices and intense spices to evoke a sense of being whisked off to a tropical local. The Jungle Bird takes another approach with imparting bitter notes from Campari paired with spicy, sweet rum and mellowed out by just a couple juices and a sugar syrup.

Tiki drinks often have a shroud of mystery surrounding them, but the Jungle Bird is pretty straight forward. During the late 70’s,  The Aviary bar in Malaysia created this exotic drink. Recently, with the revival of Tiki culture and drinks, the grandfather of modern Tiki, Beachbum Berry, revamped the original recipe to give us this thirst quenching drink that goes down almost too easy!

jungle bird // craft & cocktailsjungle bird //  Craft & Cocktail Jungle Bird with Orange Peel Syrup

makes one drink

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz dark rum (I used Pyrat)
  • 1/2 oz Campari (c/o Campari America)
  • 1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 1/2 oz orange peel syrup (recipe below)

How to make and shake:

Make orange peel syrup and let cool before using. Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice except for sliced pineapple. Strain into a glass with ice. Garnish with pineapple.

jungle bird // Craft & CocktailsOrange Peel Syrup

Ingredients

  • peels of 1 orange
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water

How to make:

I boil my orange peels a few times, dumping the water each time, before making the syrup. Add sugar, water, and orange peels to a pot. Bring to a boil and turn to low for 10 mins. Take off the heat and allow to cool. Strain the orange peels.

jungle bird // Craft & CocktailsIn lieu of a plain simple syrup, I made one with orange peels. It adds another bitter component while giving the cocktail a citrusy sweet flavor that hits all the right notes. I like to dry out the left over orange peels to use for a cocktail garnish (like for a Boulevardier!)

jungle bird // Craft & Cocktails It’s a rather uncomplicated drink to make which is often unheard of in the Tiki category. Orgeat and falernum have their time and place, but sometimes you just don’t want something, well, complicated. This is a great drink for beginners at shaking or those new to Tiki as well as for eliciting oh’s and ah’s from your party guests with out a lot of effort (I won’t tell!)

jungle bird // Craft & CocktailsThese are best served when relaxation is the main event!

Happy imbibing!

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7 Comments

  • Reply Chaucee August 5, 2015 at 8:55 am

    This sounds delicious!

    • Reply Ashley Rose August 5, 2015 at 2:48 pm

      Oh, it is! I see your from Philly, I grew up just outside in NJ 🙂

  • Reply lynsey | lynseylovesfood August 7, 2015 at 7:16 am

    not only can i not wait to try this cocktail, but i can’t wait to dry orange peels for garnish!! so much from one post!! xo

    • Reply Ashley Rose August 11, 2015 at 1:34 pm

      It’s so good! Just the right amount of bitter and sweet. <3

  • Reply Craft and Cocktails Elsewhere: Jojotastic { Aviation Cocktail } – Craft and Cocktails August 12, 2015 at 5:00 am

    […] past couple of years with the cocktail renaissance happening at many bars across the country. Jungle Birds, Bee’s Knees and libations from the pre and prohibition era are having a major moment- no […]

  • Reply Mattias September 8, 2017 at 8:35 am

    Beutiful tikki shot and a fantastic cocktail!

    • Reply Ashley Rose September 19, 2017 at 9:57 am

      Thank you so much, Mattias! The Jungle Bird is a great tiki cocktail that sneaks in a bitter punch 😉

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