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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Bailey's Bay
Cocktail of dark and gold rum with orange and pineapple juices, lime, falernum and bitters, shaken in a pitcher until foamy, coral in color.
Traditional drink from Bailey's Bay, Hamilton (Kirikiriroa)
Also known as: Bermuda Rum Swizzle, Swizzle
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Rum Swizzle — Bailey's Bay, Bermuda
The Rum Swizzle is the cocktail that Bermuda tourism presents as the national drink. The best-known recipe mixes two rums, a dark and a gold, with orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, falernum, an almond syrup with lime, ginger and clove, and a few dashes of aromatic bitters. The mixture is shaken in a pitcher with ice and a stirring rod, the swizzle stick, until it foams and takes on a coral color, with a citrusy, sweet and lightly spiced flavor.
The drink has old roots: rum mixtures stirred with a rod, the swizzle, were known to sailors and Atlantic islanders long before the 20th century. In Bermuda, the story gained a specific place in 1932, when a pub opened in a 17th-century house in Bailey's Bay. According to Bermuda tourism and the establishment itself, it was there that the Rum Swizzle was served for the first time in the form known today.
Bailey's Bay is on the north side of the main island, near the Crystal Caves and Fantasy Cave and the Blue Hole Park. The Rum Swizzle spread through the islands’ bars and restaurants, and every place has its own variation, with more or less juice, rum or spice.
In Bermuda, the Rum Swizzle is a social drink: at parties and family gatherings it is often prepared in pitchers and served in glasses for everyone. It shares with the Dark 'n Stormy the title of national drink. Because it contains a good amount of rum, it is meant to be enjoyed slowly.
Bailey's Bay , Hamilton (Kirikiriroa)
According to Bermuda tourism, the version known today of the Rum Swizzle was first served in Bailey's Bay in 1932.
Dark rum and gold rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, falernum (an almond syrup with lime, ginger and clove) and aromatic bitters.
Shaken in a pitcher with ice and a swizzle stick until foamy and served in a cocktail glass or in a pitcher to share at parties and gatherings.
Year-round; common at parties, family gatherings and late afternoons.
Your questions
Dark rum and gold rum, orange, pineapple and lime juices, falernum, an almond syrup with lime, ginger and clove, and a few dashes of bitters, shaken in a pitcher with ice and a swizzle stick until foamy.
Rum mixtures beaten with a rod are old in the Atlantic, but according to Bermuda tourism, the version known today was first served in 1932 at a pub in Bailey's Bay, in the parish of Hamilton.
The Rum Swizzle mixes rum with fruit juices, falernum and bitters and is coral in color. The Dark 'n Stormy is simpler: dark rum poured over ginger beer, with lime.
Flavors of Bermuda
The Bermudian Christmas pie: a dense dough made from grated cassava with butter, eggs, sugar and spices, baked slowly with a filling of chicken, pork or both. Sweet and savory at the same time, it is eaten hot or cold during the holidays.
The traditional Sunday breakfast in Bermuda: salted cod cooked, potatoes, onion, banana, a boiled egg and avocado on the same plate, with tomato sauce or melted butter with onion on top.
Codfish cakes made with mashed potato, onion and herbs, fried until golden. They are eaten year-round, and on Good Friday they’re served inside hot cross buns, the sweet spiced rolls marked with a cross, while kites fill the islands’ skies.
Dark rum poured over ginger beer with ice in a tall glass, garnished with a slice of lime. The rum floats on top as a dark cloud, which gives the drink its name. Called the national drink of Bermuda, it is a trademark of the Gosling family, who require their Black Seal rum in the recipe.
Fish soup with tomato, potato, onion, carrot, bell pepper and celery, seasoned and slowly cooked. It is considered Bermuda’s national dish, and at the table each person adds dark rum and sherry-pepper sauce.
Fried seasoned fish fillets with tartar sauce, served between raisin bread slices. If ordered “the works,” it comes with lettuce, tomato, grilled onion, cheese, hot sauce and coleslaw. Served across the island at kiosks and restaurants.
