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Jungle Bird

Aperitivo/aperitif · Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni) · Contemporary classic

4.2 707 ratings

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Dark/black rum
1/2 oz Red bitter liqueur
1 1/2 oz Pineapple juice
1/2 oz Lime juice
5/12 oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (2:1)

How to make

Serve in a old-fashioned glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of skewered pineapple wedge (ideally cut to resemble a bird's plumage) and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

Method

  1. 3 SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  2. 4 STRAIN into glass filled with crushed ice.

Garnish

  1. 5 Garnish with pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.

Flavour profile

12.1% alc./vol. · 1.2 standard drinks · 206 calories

History

A Tiki classic, served over crushed ice, with pungent rum and bittersweet fruity notes.

Jeffrey Ong, Beverage Manager at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton, created this Tiki-style cocktail as the welcome drink for the hotel's opening on 6th July 1973. John J. Poister's 1989 guide, The New American Bartender's Guide, confirms this origin. JUNGLE BIRD 1½ oz Dark rum ¾ oz Campari 4 oz Pineapple juice ½ oz Lime juice ½ oz Sugar syrup or to taste Maraschino cherry 1 lime slice 1 orange slice Orchid (optional) Mix all ingredients, except cherry, orange and lime slices, and orchid with cracked ice in a shaker or blender and serve in special ceramic-bird container or use a chilled Hurricane glass. Garnish with a cherry, orange and lemon slice, and an orchid. From the Kuala Lumpur Hilton, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hotel's bar, named Aviary, lent itself to the Jungle Bird moniker, especially given the proximity of a netted bird enclosure visible from the bar. The hotel's Colombian General Manager, Ricardo Tapia, later released the birds. The hotel underwent transformations, becoming the Crowne Plaza Mutiara, and was ultimately demolished in 2013 for new development. Initially, the cocktail was presented in a ceramic bird container with a tail opening for sipping. Later, possibly due to the disappearance of these unique vessels, it was served in a stemmed wine goblet featuring an engraved bird. Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's 2003 book, Intoxica!, significantly contributed to the rediscovery and burgeoning popularity of the Jungle Bird, which has since achieved status as a national cocktail in Malaysia. Jeffrey Ong died on 26th February 2019 at the age of 71. The national newspaper recognized him as "the creator of Malaysia's only internationally recognised classic cocktail."

Created by Jeffrey Ong