Cocktail & Other Recipes Preparation Style Poured

Rockey’s & Rum Swizzle

By
Céline Bossart
Celine Bossart Celine Bossart
Céline Bossart

Céline Bossart is a journalist and photographer based in New York, specializing in wine, spirits and travel.

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Updated 02/20/22
A Mason jar with a light green cocktail, crushed ice and a paper straw with limes and more crushed ice placed beside it A Mason jar with a light green cocktail, crushed ice and a paper straw with limes and more crushed ice placed beside it

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Back when he was the general manager of Betony in New York City, Eamon Rockey was known for sharing his love for a largely forgotten historical cocktail: milk punch. Two years after Betony closed, he released Rockey’s Milk Punch, bringing clarified milk punch from relative obscurity to the masses yearning for a new, fun botanical liqueur.

At its core, milk punch combines a spirit with citrus, tea and milk. After the milk curdles, the mixture is then strained to make clarified milk punch. The result is a silky, crystal-clear drink. Rockey’s bottled liqueur version removes all the legwork, and the possibilities for cocktail-making using it are seemingly endless. This recipe, for example, combines Rockey’s base with rum, pineapple and fresh lime juice for a refreshing swizzle likely to convert any skeptic.

“The versatility of clarified milk punch is unmatched,” says wine and spirits writer and expert Shanika Hillocks. “In my opinion, Rockey’s is a sophisticated nod to BYOB because any spirit can be incorporated and all palates can enjoy it.” Depending on the cocktail’s variables, Hillocks notes that one can easily coax out a range of different flavors from the liqueur, from floral and fruity to tart citrus and soft nuttiness.

What’s additionally great about the Rockey’s & Rum Swizzle is that it’s built directly inside the glass—minimizing the amount of dishware to clean. According to Hillocks, the swizzle is quintessentially West Indian and is a testament to the Caribbean approach to life. “[It’s about] using what's around us and in our backyards and leveling up. It’s sustainability and local sourcing before it was a thing,” she adds.

Though it’s best known as the national drink of Bermuda, the Rum Swizzle (and the Rockey’s variation thereof) is just too good to be confined to one lone island. For Hillocks, it’s all about the scenery—when asked to describe her ideal setting for sipping an ice cold Rockey’s & Rum Swizzle. “It would have to be one of my favorite places in the world—the Blue Lagoon in Portland, Jamaica. Ideally with Michael B. Jordan.”

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Ingredients

  • 1 ounce Rockey’s Milk Punch liqueur
  • 1 ounce light rum
  • 1 ounce pineapple juice
  • 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

Steps

  1. Add the liqueur, rum and juices into a pineapple-shaped or Mason jar with crushed or cracked ice and swizzle until well-chilled.

  2. Serve with a straw.