![Two jungle bird cocktails made with black strap rum campari and pineapple in a rocks glasses.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/assets.epicurious.com/photos/62d55240853f8d874f50ab75/1:1/w_2560%2Cc_limit/JungleBirdCocktail_RECIPE_071422_37296.jpg)
I had my first Jungle Bird at the Chicago tiki bar, Three Dots and a Dash. I was meeting drinks writer Robert Simonson, and when he picks the place to meet for cocktails, you know you’re in good hands. Robert suggested that I order the Jungle Bird, one of the few tiki drinks to feature amaro. This rosy cocktail has an intriguing maple-like flavor from the rum, splashed with tangy brightness from fresh pineapple juice and lime. But what sets the Jungle Bird apart is the bittersweet, herbal backbone of Campari running through the drink.
The Jungle Bird was created by the Jeffrey Ong See Teik of the Aviary Bar in the Kuala Lumpur Hilton Hotel in the mid-to-late 1970s. In its first iteration, the drink was made with dark rum, Campari, pineapple, lime, and simple syrup. A collection of tropical birds kept in a fenced-in aviary near the hotel pool is believed to have inspired the drink’s name, and it’s said that the eye-catching cocktail was even served in a bird-shaped vessel. (It’s still a good-looking drink when served in a double old-fashioned glass.)
Though the Jungle Bird was included in John J. Poister’s 1989 New American Bartender’s Guide, it wasn’t until 2002 that Jeff Berry’s Beachbum Berry’s Intoxica! made the drink a bartender (and bargoer) obsession. New York bartender Giuseppe González substituted molasses-rich blackstrap rum for the dark rum of the original, and that’s frequently what you’ll see today, though some bartenders prefer to play with the formulation.
Recipe information
Total Time
2 minutes
Yield
Makes 1
Ingredients
Preparation
Combine 1½ oz. blackstrap rum, 1½ oz. freshly squeezed pineapple juice, ¾ oz. Campari, ½ oz. freshly squeezed lime juice, and ½ oz. 1:1 simple syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled, and strain into a double old-fashioned glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with the pineapple wedge or leaf (or both).
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in ‘Amaro’ by Brad Thomas Parsons and first appeared on Epicurious in June 2020.
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Reviews (9)
Back to TopHey NutBob, did you try it? If you did, and it was too bitter understandable. However, you could make it more to your liking by using Aperol or Cynar which don't have as big a bite as Campari. Apertivo drinks are an acquired taste. You have to be ready for some bitterness. The more you drink them the more you come to appreciate them (as well as Amaro cocktails). Although, I still can't get into IPA beers. So who knows.
KBec
Dallas, TX
12/20/2022
Delicious, even with Dole pineapple juice, and improved ever so slightly with mint simple syrup.
jrb
Central PA
8/23/2022
Bitter is not our thing...
NutmegBob
SE CT
8/18/2022
Delicious as is! Also good with a splash of club soda to lighten it up (for a better day drinking cocktail)
kepearson9
Denver, CO
8/23/2020
This is a fabulous drink a to the guy who said it was too bitter maybe you should stick to soft drinks!
Liz
Cleveland OH
4/10/2023