Ok folks, one more beer cocktail before we switch to our next big project: punches! So far, we’ve been adding beer by topping off our drinks with some suds. This gives our drinks some fizz, some extra body, and all those bitter or spicy or fruity flavors that come with the beer. But what if you want those flavors without all the fizz? Just turn some beer into a syrup! We took a bitter, floral IPA and turned into a syrup to use in an unexpected place: a Tiki drink, the Jungle Bird.–Andrew

An IPA Jungle Bird

2 oz Jamaican Rum
3/4 oz IPA Syrup
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice

To make the IPA syrup: add 8 ounces of IPA and 8 ounces of sugar to a saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until the sugar has completely melted, then remove from the heat. Strain into a bottle and refrigerate.

To make the IPA Jungle Bird: combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled two-thirds with ice. Shake gently to incorporate, then strain into a tumbler glass filled with fresh crushed ice. Garnish whimsically and enjoy!

The Jungle Bird is a relative newcomer in the world of Tiki, probably invented in the 1970s at a bar in Malaysia. It pairs dark rum with fruity pineapple and Campari, the intensely bitter Italian liqueur. It’s a dark, rich, intense Tiki drink. We lightened it up a bit by replacing the Campari with our IPA syrup. IPAs–India Pale Ales–are loaded with hops, which give the beer bitterness, along with lots of other flavors. Hops can be piney, floral, citrusy, or even fruity. So we retain some of the original’s bitterness and replaced some of those herbaceous Campari notes with the IPA’s complex flavors.

The result is a light, fruity Tiki drink, with lots of funkiness from the Jamaican rum up front, followed with tropical pineapple and just a bit of complex bitterness from the IPA. It’s tremendously refreshing!

And remember: the whole point of Tiki is to be a little ridiculous, a little over the top, so we came up with a pretty ridiculous garnish to go with our IPA Jungle Bird. Some fresh pineapple, some cloves for eyes, and some pineapple fronds give us our very own Tiki jungle bird. Go wild.

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Glassware by Liquorary

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper