JungleBird

the Southeast Asia tiki cocktail with funk.

You may know Malaysia for its stunning coastal landscapes. Or its giant landmarks like Mount Kinabalu or the Petronas Twin Towers. But did you know it’s the homeland of the Jungle Bird tiki cocktail? Although teh tarik, tea and milk mixed by pouring the two repeatedly between cups is Malaysia’s official national drink, the Jungle Bird is the unofficial Malaysian drink.

Made with Jamaican rum, Campari, pineapple juice, lime juice, and simple syrup, the Jungle Bird was created at the Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur in 1973. Turning 50 years old this summer, the Jungle Bird was served as a welcome drink for guests. According to some reports, it was served in a ceramic birdshaped glass with an opening to sip the drink from the tail.

Featured first in print in John Poister’s 1989 The New American Bartender’s Guide, the tiki cocktail was said to be the brainchild of Jalan Sultan Ismail. But stellar investigative work by ThirstMag.com reveals this falsehood. The ThristMag team tracked down bar staff that worked at the hotel in its heyday to uncover the real creator— Jeffrey Ong Swee Teik, the hotel’s beverage manager.

By Lanee Lee

And the name was given by the then food and beverage manager, Reinhard Steffen. The term ‘jungle bird’ referred to the views of the bird sanctuary—yes, exotic birds were living in a netted area in the hotel— if you sat facing the stage at Aviary, the hotel’s bar.

Although the current Hilton Kuala Lumpur relocated from Jalan Sultan Ismail to the capital city’s business district, the hotel still proudly serves the Jungle Bird—and four other variations—at the Aviary Bar.

While dozens of classic tiki cocktail recipes call for bitters, not many use Campari, the Italian aperitif. In addition to its birthplace, that’s what makes the Jungle Bird a strange but cool bird. Campari balances out the pineapple juice and dances with the dark rum beautifully.

After the recipe was featured in Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s 2002 book Intoxica, a flock of twists on the Jungle Bird took flight. To name a few, there’s the Jungle Booby (it features tequila and mezcal as base spirits), Kentucky Bird (a bourbon lover’s Jungle Bird), and even the Jungle Bird’s Jungle Bird (it doubles down on bitters with Contratto and Campari).

Intrigued by trying out the ruby-colored Italian aperitif in other tiki cocktails? Go cuckoo and try out recipes like Trader Vic’s Foul Weather Friend, Paul McGee’s Lost Lake, or Jeremy Oertel’s Bitter Mai Tai.

Or start with the OG Jungle Bird recipe and toast the late Jeffrey Ong Swee Teik, the first Malaysian to create a classic cocktail.