Guest Bartender: Make a Jungle Bird with Theo Lieberman of Lantern's Keep

Posted by Maggie Hoffman, February 22, 2012 at 12:30 PM

You don't hear often of brilliant cocktails created in the late 1970s, but The Jungle Bird was one. Beachbum Berry's Intoxica traces it to the Aviary Bar in the Kuala Lumpur Hilton, circa 1978, and it's one of only a handful of tiki cocktails that calls for Campari as an ingredient. "This is a crazy drink," said Theo Lieberman of The Lantern's Keep in NYC as he mixed one up for us. "It tastes like you're eating pancakes covered in maple syrup and drinking a cup of coffee."

The coffee note is courtesy of blackstrap rum, which has a deep molasses-and-chocolate flavor that adds a bass note to the otherwise bright-toned drink. Fresh lime and fresh pineapple juice fill it out—if you don't have a juice extractor, you'll have to use a little elbow grease and muddle, muddle, muddle and strain.

You can save yourself the trouble and try the Jungle Bird at Lantern's Keep, or follow along with the slideshow to learn how to make this bizarre and delicious Campari tiki cocktail at home.

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Jungle Bird »

About the Author: Maggie Hoffman is the editor of Serious Eats: Drinks and coeditor of Serious Eats: Sweets. You can follow her on Twitter @maggiejane.

1 of 8
You're gonna need some lime

Juice a lime fresh at the last minute and add 1/2 ounce lime to a cocktail shaker.

2 of 8
Just a little sweetness

Add 1/2 ounce simple syrup to the shaker.

3 of 8
It's ok to be bitter

Add 3/4 ounce Campari to the shaker.

4 of 8
No Dole Allowed

Add 1.5 ounces freshly squeezed pineapple juice. If you don't have a juice extractor or a hand juicer, you'll need to muddle ripe chunks of pineapple and strain the result.

5 of 8
Go dark

Though earlier versions of the recipe call for golden rum, blackstrap adds tons more flavor. Add 1.5 ounces Cruzan blackstrap rum to the cocktail shaker.

6 of 8
Big ice cube

Lieberman serves this drink over a big ice cube in a copper Moscow Mule mug.

7 of 8
Get shakin'

Fill shaker with ice. Seal and shake very well, until cocktail is quite cold.

8 of 8
Strain and pour

Strain and serve with a straw. Enjoy!

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