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The Jungle Bird is a tropical rum cocktail with a twist! Bitter Campari offsets sweet pineapple juice to make a balanced, refreshing mixed drink.
Love fruity drinks but want something more complex? Here’s the drink for you: the Jungle Bird! It’s one of the few rum cocktails to pair tropical flavors with an Italian bitter: Campari. You might know Campari from the ubiquitous Negroni: an ultra dry and bitter drink. But add it to a tropical drink and the effect is surprising. Campari perfectly balances the drink and gives the finish an intriguing complexity. In fact, it’s become a favorite around here…and that’s saying something, given our extensive library of cocktails. It hits all the right notes: sweet, tart, fruity, and bitter.
What’s a Jungle Bird cocktail?
The Jungle Bird is a tropical cocktail made with rum, pineapple juice, and Campari. The story goes that it was invented in 1978 at the Aviary bar of the Kuala Lumpur Hilton. The telltale sign it’s that it’s modern: it fuses the Italian bitter Campari with the tropical flavors. This drink recently surged in popularity, fueled by the Negroni craze. The drink is often garnished with pineapple leaves to mimic the feathers of a bird. The ingredients in a Jungle Bird cocktail are:
- Dark rum
- Pineapple juice
- Campari
- Lime juice
- Simple syrup
Dark rum vs light rum: what’s the difference?
The Jungle Bird uses dark rum: something altogether different than the light rum you’ve got for daiquiris and piña coladas. Here’s a breakdown of the differences:
- Dark rum is aged longer than white rum. It has a dark color and a developed flavor with caramel notes.
- Light rum or white rum is clear and has a smoother, sweeter flavor than dark rum.
Can you use light rum in a Jungle Bird? Sure. It won’t taste quite the same, but it’s similar. Of course if you’re a purist: go grab a bottle of dark rum!
All about Campari
Campari is an Italian bitter with a bright red color! It’s easy to find, most famously used in the Negroni and other classic cocktails like the Americano and Boulevardier.
What does Campari taste like? It’s tastes bitter, fruity, and spicy all at once. It’s infused with different herbs and fruits, part of a secret recipe. Fun fact: Campari was originally colored so brightly red due to a dye made of crushed insects! That’s no longer in the modern recipe, so it shouldn’t deter you from grabbing a bottle.
How to make a Jungle Bird
It’s quick and easy to make a Jungle Bird once you’ve got all the ingredients on hand! Shake it up, then garnish:
- Shake in a cocktail shaker. Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake (Don’t have one? Use a mason jar!)
- Strain into a glass and garnish. Strain the drink into a lowball glass. Garnish with a pineapple wedge. If you happen to have the pineapple leaves on hand, they make a great garnish evocative of bird feathers.
More Campari cocktails
Love Campari? There are so many interesting drinks with this Italian liqueur to try outside of the Negroni. Here are some great Campari cocktails to test out:
- Negroni Sbagliato A spin on the classic cocktail using sparkling wine instead of gin. It’s bitter, sweet, and bubbly all at once.
- Old Pal Cocktail A three ingredient cocktail that’s sleek and sippable, balancing bitter and sweet with fiery whiskey.
- Mezcal Negroni The way the smoke of mezcal balances the bitter Campari makes an even better drink.
- Campari Spritz Bitter and bubbly, this cocktail mixes the popular aperativo with sparkling wine and soda water.
When to serve a Jungle Bird
The Jungle Bird is a festive and fun cocktail, great for parties or a laid back evening! It’s great as a:
- Summer drink
- Signature drink
- Cocktail hour drink
- Party drink
- Happy hour drink
- Dinner party drink
Jungle Bird Cocktail (with Campari!)
The Jungle Bird is a tropical rum cocktail with a twist! Bitter Campari offsets sweet pineapple juice to make a balanced, refreshing mixed drink.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Cocktails
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) dark rum
- 1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) pineapple juice
- 3/4 to 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) Campari (to taste)
- ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) lime juice
- ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) simple syrup or maple syrup
- For the garnish: Pineapple wedge, pineapple leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Add the dark rum, pineapple juice, Campari, lime juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Shake vigorously until cold.
- Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, pineapple leaves, or fresh mint.
More rum drinks
Love mixed drinks with rum? Here are a few more to add to your repertoire:
- Classic Mojito This iconic Cuban cocktail is refreshing and just sweet enough.
- Piña Colada Takes only 5 ingredients and 5 minutes and has incredible flavor.
- Classic Daiquiri One of the most classic cocktails! The perfect balance of boozy, tart and sweet.
- Hemingway Daiquiri An intriguing spin on the classic: grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur compliment lime and rum perfectly.
- Strawberry Daiquiri or Lime Frozen Daiquiri Fresh spins on the 1990’s frozen daiquiri craze.
LOVE this cocktail! After a few test runs we served it to guests this evening — very well received. I went easy on the Campari, 1/2oz, and increased the pineapple to 2oz, and just used a dash of maple syrup. Will definitely keep this on our rotation. Reminds me of a rum/grapefruit/aperol drink I tried a while back. That little bit of bitter is fabulous! But I imagine the supertasters out there will need to reduce the amaro quantities on any of these.
I don’t really understand what went wrong but the campari is disgusting.. I’m currently trying some different mixes to make it taste better so I don’t waste my 40$ on the bottle but it’s not going well.. I am out of pineapple juice so I substituted with pineapple orange .. the first mix based on your recipe tasted like plain grapefruit.. I tried it with coconut syrup as a substitute and its more tolerable… I’m also using captain Morgan spiced rum, maybe should have gotten the clear? I usually prefer barcardi but I could only find the higher proof bottles in the captain Morgan lol… thanks for the experience tho! I’m always willing to try new things
Sorry it didn’t work for you! Captain Morgan is highly sweetened so that might throw off the taste a bit. The campari is very bitter but we love what it brings to cocktails.
Oh dear. The money wasted was on the Captain Morgan’s. It’s spiced, as in spices like clove and ginger and cinnamon, with lots of added sugar. Could almost be labeled “dram.” Really, it should be in a separate aisle for frat party supplies 😆😉
Go easy on the amaro and use a real rum (Myers is a popular option, Lyon is a high quality option regionally around the Delmarva area, etc)
i tried both and i think the original is more balance but i like yours too , a little stronger :)
‘Love your drink recipes! ‘Had a cocktail at a California Beach hotel with the same ingredient list that I just loved so I thought it was a Jungle Bird. I made your Jungle Bird recipe and loved it, but felt like I should be drinking it at a swim-up bar. Turns out the one I had was a little less sweet, a little less fruity, and more booze forward so I modified your Jungle Bird recipe to replicate it. I reduced the pineapple juice and simple syrup and increased the Campari. The one I finished with is very similar, but feels more at home in the evening with other adult cocktails.
1.5oz dark rum (Myers)
1.5oz Campari
1 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz lime juice (1Tsp)
1/4oz simple syrup (1/2Tsp – I used agave syrup)
If you like a Boulevardier or other Campari drink as much as I do you may enjoy this slightly tropical take.
Thanks for sharing! We’ll have to try your version.
This is an absolutely delicious cocktail! Beautifully balanced – fruity, slightly bitter & still slightly sweet. Made with maple syrup option. Excellent – I feel like a fancy bartender! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!