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Cocktail History
The Queen’s Park Swizzle is a classic cocktail that was created in the early 1900s at the Queen’s Park Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad. It is similar to the Mojito because it’s also made with rum, citrus, and mint leaves muddled in simple syrup, but it calls for a dark overproof Demerara rum and is topped with Trinidad’s own Angostura aromatic bitters.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Demerara Rum: This is a type of rum made in Guyana with sugarcane, spices, and water that has been barrel aged. This recipe specifically calls for an overproof demerara rum, but we used Angostura 7-Year-Old Rum because it has a rich, full-bodied flavor with notes of honey, chocolate, maple, and toffee. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Caleño Non-Alcoholic Dark & Spicy Tropical Spirit in place of the rum.
Lime Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lime. We used freshly squeezed lime juice.
Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.
Aromatic Bitters: This is a food product made with botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. We used Angostura Aromatic Bitters. For a mocktail version of this drink, try All The Bitter Alcohol-Free Aromatic Bitters in place of the aromatic bitters.
Mint Leaves: This is an herb. We used Mojito mint leaves.
Mint Sprig: This is an herb. We used Mojito mint.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Muddler: This is used to muddle ingredients. We used the HQY Stainless Steel Cocktail Muddler.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Swizzle Stick: This is used to mix the ingredients. We used the Piña Barware Stainless Steel Swizzle Stick.
Tasting Notes
The Queen’s Park Swizzle features warming aromas of mint and spices and has a fruity-sweet flavor that combines rum’s grassy notes with sweetened lime and the tingling bite of spicy bitters, all going down with a spice-imparted menthol flavor in the aftertaste.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Just as a 100-year-old classic deserves, we both found the Queen’s Park Swizzle to be an incredibly tasty yet simple combination of flavors and a terrific alternative to a Daiquiri for your next rum tasting.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This bitters-tinged Daiquiri take is a classic for a reason, and despite having been in the world of rum and cocktails for quite some time now, this tasting was the first time I had ever had one. The inclusion of a heavy dose of bitters is a must here because the spicy flavor they provide gives this drink a lot of its character; the mint, on the other hand, lends a supporting role. This drink is simple enough to riff on with any different kind of rum or flavor of simple syrup, but the Angostura aromatic bitters are a staple that the drink wouldn’t be the same without.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I didn’t expect to enjoy this drink quite as much as I did! Usually, I’m not too big on layered cocktails, but the spicy bitters and mint play really well with the rum. We did end up using a pretty strong yet delicious rum from Angostura in place of demerara rum, and it was still very tasty. Rum is the most prominent flavor, for sure, so I’d be careful which ones you used in this. I don’t know that I’d make this again, but I enjoyed tasting it.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks by the editors of PUNCH and Megan Krigbaum.
Add simple syrup and mint leaves to a highball glass.
Muddle gently for 5-7 seconds.
Add rum, lime juice, and cracked ice to glass.
Top with bitters.
Stir gently with a swizzle stick for 5-10 seconds.
Garnish with mint sprig.
Ingredients
Directions
Add simple syrup and mint leaves to a highball glass.
Muddle gently for 5-7 seconds.
Add rum, lime juice, and cracked ice to glass.
Top with bitters.
Stir gently with a swizzle stick for 5-10 seconds.
Garnish with mint sprig.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Caleño Non-Alcoholic Dark & Spicy Tropical Spirit in place of the rum and All The Bitter Alcohol-Free Aromatic Bitters in place of the aromatic bitters to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Rum Cocktails
If you like this rum-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that are similar that you may enjoy:
Caribe Daiquiri: A rum cocktail made with pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and a lime slice
Junior Colada: A pineapple rum cocktail made with coconut liqueur, pineapple juice, lime juice, coconut soda, and pineapple fronds
Siboney (Variation): A rum cocktail made with pineapple juice, lime juice, passion fruit syrup, and rich Demerara syrup
Wishful Thinking: A sloe gin and rhum agricole cocktail made with ginger syrup, lime juice, absinthe, Angostura aromatic bitters, and a mint sprig
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