Jungle Bird

The recipe calls for a non-alcoholic rum alternative, and there are some good ones now. Ritual Zero Proof and Monday both bring the warm, molasses-edged backbone a Jungle Bird leans on. Seedlip Spice 94 (which isn't a rum, of course, but we've used it in a pinch) works too if you like a more baking-spice note. Use whichever you can find and enjoy most.

Ours is, at 0% ABV. The original Jungle Bird is built on dark rum and Campari, both alcoholic, so we swap in a non-alcoholic rum alternative and Novara Aperitivo. You keep the rich, bittersweet tropical character, with no alcohol and nothing artificial.

Demerara syrup is a rich syrup made from demerara, a raw cane sugar with deeper, molasses-like notes than white sugar. To make it, stir two parts demerara sugar into one part hot water until it dissolves, then let it cool. No demerara on hand? A brown-sugar syrup, or even a rich simple syrup, will stand in, though you lose a little of that toasty depth.

It's the Jungle Bird's signature move. Tiki drinks and bitter aperitivos or amari seem like an unlikely pairing, yet the combination has become a modern favourite, and it's what sets this cocktail apart from the rest of the tropical category. That bitterness cuts through the sweetness of the pineapple and syrup, keeping the drink balanced rather than cloying. In our version, Novara Aperitivo plays that role, bringing the bittersweet edge without the alcohol.