Jungle Bird (Gonzalez Revision)
Chris’ PickGiuseppe Gonzalez’s mid-2010s rework of the 1978 Kuala Lumpur Hilton original—demerara syrup in place of straight simple, a hard shake over cubed ice, and a brighter, more aerated drink as a result. Now the de facto Jungle Bird in modern tiki and craft-cocktail bars.
The History
Giuseppe Gonzalez built this version while working in the New York craft-cocktail scene in the early-to-mid 2010s. His stated reasoning: the demerara adds the molasses depth the dark Jamaican needs to push back against Campari’s bitterness; the hard shake aerates the pineapple and brightens the whole drink. The 1978 built-and-stirred original is the historical document; this is the version most modern bars now serve.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz dark Jamaican rum (Myers’s, Appleton, or Coruba)
- 0.75 oz Campari
- 1.5 oz pineapple juice
- 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz demerara syrup (1:1 demerara sugar to water)
- Pineapple wedge & leaves (garnish)
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with cubed ice.
Shake hard for 10–12 seconds until well-chilled and properly aerated.
Strain over fresh crushed ice in a hurricane glass or rocks glass.
Garnish with a pineapple wedge and leaves.
The original
For the 1978 Aviary Bar / Kuala Lumpur Hilton build—straight simple syrup, built and stirred rather than shaken—see Jungle Bird.