Yellow Bird

The one of the earliest references I’ve seen to a Yellow Bird cocktail was in an article from The Palm Beach Post on Jun 25, 1972 in an article that focused on Galliano recipes because Galliano is, of course, a natural choice of liqueur when you want to turn a drink yellow. That drink recipe called for Galliano, white rum, triple sec and lime juice, shaken with ice and strained into a stemmed glass. Since that time, many other versions of Yellow Bird cocktails have been concocted, enough for a whole flock of birds. Some add other types of rum, or other liqueurs. Many lose the Galliano entirely and some are blended, instead of being served over ice. What I’m getting to is that there isn’t one right way to make a Yellow Bird, but there are some good ways out there and this is one of them.

This particular bird is a fruity, somewhat sweet cocktail that is easy to drink and fun to serve at a party because of its bright yellow color. It looks great in a tall glass, loaded down with a funky garnish. Don’t be fooled by the color and initial sweetness, however, as this drink has plenty of rum and a nice bit of spice to it from both allspice dram and Jamaican bitters. The Jamaican bitters I like to use are made with allspice and black pepper, but there are some other tiki bitters out there that can spice things up, as well. If you don’t have anything spicy, double up the allspice dram instead to give the drink some complexity, then sit back and imagine you’re sitting on some beach, somewhere.

Yellow Bird
2 1/4 oz El Dorado 3 Year Demerara (or another good white rum)
2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
1 oz banana liqueur
1 oz apricot brandy
1/2 oz lime juice
1 tsp allspice dram
2 dashes jamaican bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, fill with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice.