I spent part of Canada Day long weekend with a big group of friends at a lake house near Bath, Ont. Everybody was there: Adults! Kids! A dog! Plus, a shirtless guy that nobody seemed to actually know, haphazardly mowing the lawn on a ride-around mower that kept making strangled, “Something Is Seriously Wrong With Me” noises. Ah, summer.
The highlights of the weekend, for me, included: Sleeping in past 5 a.m., doing colour-by-number pictures with my friend’s four-year-old son, and drinking Swizzle, a rum-based cocktail (aka “Bermuda’s national drink”), sort of similar to the rum punch in our Caribbean party recipes story in our Summer issue.
At parties, my friends Annie and Cory—he’s from Bermuda—always mix up a big batch of the stuff, then serve it in the kind of multi-gallon cooler somebody’s mother would use to dispense ice water at a soccer tournament. It’s delicious. And really strong…which probably explains why I had such an awesome time using a child’s colouring book after drinking a glass of it. So here’s Annie and Cory’s recipe, if you want to mix some up for your next long-weekend party:
Bermudian Rum Swizzle
Start with a two-gallon drink cooler (with a spigot on the bottom). Mix the following ingredients:
13 oz white rum
13 oz amber rum
26 oz dark rum (or 13 oz 140-proof)
1 large can pineapple juice
1-2 containers mango juice (or about 2 litres)
1 litre orange barley water (or orange punch, because barley water is hard to find)
3 oz grenadine
8 drops bitters
Taste and add more mix as needed. Freeze overnight or longer with the top off the cooler and serve. Can be kept in the freezer for 1-2 months for future use.
And if you’re looking for more recipes, plus info on how to throw a hot summer party, check out CL’s tips on How to Get Your Caribbean Party Started.