Name: Green Swizzle
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Light white rum; 10 ml White overproof rum; 5 ml Absinthe; 25 ml Falernum liqueur; 5 ml Green crème de menthe; 15 ml Lime juice

Green Swizzle
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Serve in a Collins glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Light white rum (charcoal-filtered 1-4 years old)
¹⁄₃ oz	White overproof rum (unaged Jamaican/funky)
¹⁄₆ oz	La Fée Parisienne absinthe
⁵⁄₆ oz	Difford's Falernum liqueur
¹⁄₆ oz	Giffard Peppermint Pastille crème de menthe
¹⁄₂ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Collins glass.
Prepare garnish of aromatic bitters, lime wedge and mint sprigs.
POUR all ingredients into chilled glass.
Two-thirds FILL glass with crushed ice.
SWIZZLE and then fill the glass with more crushed ice.
Garnish with 3 dashes of aromatic bitters over the drink's ice cap and finish with a lime wedge and mint sprigs bouquet.
Serve with a straw.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Cocktail of the day:

22nd April 2025 is Earth Day

Review:

Robustly flavoured ingredients brought together harmoniously in a tall, most refreshing swizzle. Worthy of its legendary status.

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Variant:

Rum Swizzle

History:

The Green Swizzle was popular between 1890s and the 1930s during a period when the grand hotels of the Caribbean, such as the Queen's Park Hotel in Trinidad, were in their prime. This drinks legendary status is partly due to its featuring in The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy by P.G. Wodehouse. Bertie Wooster sings its praises after enjoying a few at the Panter's Bar of the West Indian stand at the 1924 British Empire Exposition at Wembley, London.

We bow to David Wondrich, who in his 2015 Updated and Revised Imbibe says, "It is impossible to give a definitive recipe for the Green Swizzle" and he goes on to explain that there are versions based on rum, whiskey, old tom gin and genever. While the recipe has numerous variations, it is certain that this swizzle was originally made green by dashes of absinthe bitters, rather than the green crème de menthe used in some modern interpretations of the drink. That said we like the way the minty liqueur combines with the absinthe that we've used as a wormwood bitters substitute. As for the base spirit, given the Green Swizzle's Caribbean heritage, white rum seems most appropriate (aged rum dirties the drink's pale green hue).

Nutrition:

One serving of Green Swizzle contains 228 calories

Alcohol content:

2.2 standard drinks
28.78% alc./vol. (28.78° proof)
30.2 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Simon Sedgley

7th February at 11:18

Our advice is to omit the creme de menthe and, when offering it to a guest, simply say "Here, have a swizzle darling".

Avery Garnett

9th May 2024 at 18:02

I didn't quite fancy a licorice assault, so I used 10ml of bohemian absinth and a dash of regular absinthe. It looks like a sweet and weak gimmick (it *is* quite green) but it packs a real punch. Surprisingly very good.