Jungle Bird Recipe

Name: Jungle Bird Recipe
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

RECIPE: Reprinted with permission from The Classic Cocktail Sessions: A Bartender’s New-Fashioned Approach to the World’s Most Beloved Recipes by Toby Maloney and Emma Janzen, copyright © 2026. Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Photo: Emma Janzen

July 16, 2026

Toby Maloney’s take on one of the most unusual tropical drinks.

“The Jungle Bird is one of the weirdest drinks in the tropical canon,” writes Toby Maloney in his book The Classic Cocktails Sessions. It manages to bring together three strongly flavorful ingredients—blackstrap rum, pineapple juice, and Campari—in one compelling cocktail that appeals to both amaro fans and tiki enthusiasts.

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz. "interesting rum" (Maloney uses Scarlet Ibis or Doctor Bird)
1/2 oz. blackstrap rum (Maloney uses Cruzan)
3/4 oz. Campari
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. demerara syrup
1 1/2 oz. pineapple juice

Tools:shaker, strainer, fine-mesh strainer
Glass:Double Old Fashioned
Garnish:pineapple leaf, pineapple wedge (optional)

Preparation

Pour the demerara syrup into the shaker, followed by the pineapple juice, lime juice, Campari, and the rums.
NOTE“Sure, the spec says 1 1/2 oz. of the first rum and 1/2 ounce of the second, but if you know you really like the molasses notes of blackstrap, you can pour a shy half on the first rum, and bold on the blackstrap—as long as the full measure equals 2 oz., the balance of the whole drink will remain intact,” writes Maloney.

Add 5 ice cubes to the shaker and shake gently to account for how much dilution the pineapple juice is already adding to the drink. Double-strain the cocktail over a large ice cube or sphere in the glass. Garnish.

If you don’t want to interfere with the unique aroma of this cocktail, Maloney recommends sticking to the pineapple leaf as the garnish. But if you want a snack with the cocktail, add the pineapple wedge.