Swizzle cocktail, as much fun to say as it is to drink

If you haven’t had a swizzle, you better order one soon. Swizzle cocktail is the next must drink cocktail at your favorite watering hole.

Cocktails are hot again. As the craft beer market stagnates and rose season ends, cocktails become a popular order at bars and restaurants. As the mixologists and bartenders look for new styles, combinations and inspiration, a new cocktail category emerges, swizzle cocktails. Who could resist a swizzle cocktail?

Swizzle cocktail, photo from THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA, PRNewswire

A swizzle cocktail is defined as “hybrid drink that is both shaken and stirred.” Instead of the ingredients driving the name, this type of cocktail is named for the action of making it. Basically, the bartender or mixologist swizzles, or uses a whisk-like motion, to make it.

Often a bartender or mixologist will use a swizzle stick to create these types of cocktails. The common kitchen utensil isn’t just a bar tool. While most people purchase their tool at the favorite kitchen store, the original swizzle sticks date back to the earliest sugar plantations. The dried tree twigs served as the perfect kitchen tool. Although today’s uses are the same, the type of swizzle sticks have changed.

Swizzle cocktail, photo from THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA, PRNewswire

To make a perfect swizzle cocktail, the mixologist allows the swizzle to slightly dilute the cocktail’s spirit. The slight dilatation doesn’t inhibit the spirit’s flavor, rather it opens up the spirit. The resulting taste is full, yet not overpowering.

The most popular version of these cocktails is the Queen’s Park Swizzle. Considered THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA’S signature cocktail, this cocktail is bright and refreshing. The combination of sweet, bitter and bright makes this cocktail perfect any time of year.

Here’s the recipe to Queen’s Park Swizzle.

Queen’s Park Swizzle, photo from THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA, PRNewswire

In addition to the swizzle technique, the key ingredient to a good swizzle is bitters. Bitters offer a spicy, bitter and sweet flavor to any cocktail. Basically, it’s the punch of flavor that makes a cocktail better. The difference can be tasted in specialty cocktail versus one poured from a mix.

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Are you ready to swizzle? Next time you’re out for a cocktail, order a swizzle cocktail. You might find a new signature libation.