Swizzle

Queen's Park Swizzle

5 min.Demerara Rum

Add the mint leaves to the bottom of a tall chilled Collins or chimney glass.
1
Pour in the lime juice and simple syrup over the mint.
2
Gently muddle the mint to bruise the leaves and coat the inside of the glass with mint oils, taking care not to tear the leaves into small pieces.
3
Add the Demerara rum to the glass.
4
Add the Angostura bitters.
5
Place the spent lime shell into the glass.
6
Fill the glass about three-quarters full with crushed or finely shaved ice.
7
Insert a swizzle stick or bar spoon to the bottom of the glass and rapidly spin it between your palms to swizzle until the outside of the glass is frosted and the drink is well mixed.
8
Top up the glass with more crushed ice to form a rounded mound above the rim.
9
Garnish with a generous mint sprig bouquet, position the mint near the drinker’s nose, and serve with a straw.
10

Trinidad & Tobago
Origin
The Queen’s Park Swizzle was created in the 1920s at the Queen’s Park Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad, named for the nearby Queen’s Park Savannah. It entered the wider cocktail canon through Trader Vic’s Book of Food and Drink in 1946, where Victor Bergeron praised it as one of the great hotel drinks of the Caribbean. The recipe showcases Trinidad’s rum and Angostura bitters within the older West Indian swizzle tradition.
History
Angostura and Trinidadian promotional materials have often cited the Queen’s Park Swizzle as a national cocktail of Trinidad & Tobago. Trader Vic later published a more elaborate three-rum version in his 1972 Bartender’s Guide, but the original hotel-style drink used a single Demerara rum base. Structurally, the drink is often described as a cross between a Mojito and a Daiquiri, distinguished by its rich Demerara rum and the use of Angostura bitters. The defining feature of the cocktail is not just its ingredients but the swizzling technique itself, an old West Indian method of chilling and diluting drinks directly in the serving glass.
Trivia
Grilled seafood, Spicy Caribbean dishes, Ceviche, Light appetizers and salads
Pairings
Trader Vic’s Book of Food and Drink
Source