Isn’t it amusing that as soon as fall hits all the pumpkin recipes come out? Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as guilty as the next food blogger when it comes to the pumpkin craze. Let us not forget my, ahem, pumpkin biscoff swirl brownies from the other day – but I feel a little bad for the little guys who are around for a limited time in fall as well.
I’m of course talking about figs here – where you can really only find fresh ones from about late August until October. Plus in comparison to a pumpkin, you can’t get any smaller than a fig!
There’s a house down the block from me who has a gorgeous and gigantic fig bush out front. A little unusual for Brooklyn and to say I’m a little bit jealous when I walk by every morning and evening would be an understatement. They have a basket out front and I managed to catch their fig generosity once but since then, nothing! Would it be so horrible if I hopped the fence to snip a couple off? I’m joking!!
Back in August, I jetted off to Bermuda on a cruise for a week to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary (more on than in another post). Before the trip, I was always under the impression that the Dark ‘n Stormy was the national drink of Bermuda but every place we went had rum swizzles listed as a special. A little research later turned out, they are both popular drinks out of the island made from spiced rum – or more specifically Gosling’s Black Seal. That was the only rum I spotted on the island and the only one that those two drinks should be made with.
While my trip to Bermuda included a lot of Dark ‘n Stormys, I never did end up trying a Rum Swizzle. It stayed on my mind after my return and I thought it would make a fantastic vehicle for figs. Essentially made from a variety of fruit juices, rum and bitters, I just switched the fruit juices out for a fig simple syrup and lime juice.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2oz Gosling's Black Seal Rum
- 2oz fresh lime juice
- 2oz fig simple syrup (recipe below)
- 3 dashes bitters
- ice
- Fresh fig slices for garnish
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 5 fresh figs, halved
Instructions
- In a small saute pan over medium heat, whisk together the cane sugar, water and add the halved figs. Bring to a boil and with a fork mash the figs into the syrup. Let boil for 1 minute and turn off the heat to let the figs sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Pour the simple syrup over a fine mesh sieve into a small container.
- In a cocktail shaker, add the rum, lime juice and fig simple syrup. Cover and shake the mix.
- Place ice in a rocks glass and add the dash of bitters. Pour the fig rum swizzle over and garnish with fresh fig slices.
- Makes one cocktail.
What a perfectly perfect autumn drink!! I’m crazy jealous of your fig bush neighbors. I know I would entertain thoughts of sneaking down there in the cover of darkness and filling my own fig basket 🙂 Totally acceptable, right?
I have never seen or tasted a fig cocktail but I’d love to. I agree that it’s a shame that the lovely little figs (and pears, too) get a little overlooked at this time of year.
I never heard of this cocktail before, but I have a feeling I would love it! I was just professing my love for figs. Maybe I can make this drink for Mike and watch him enjoy it hahaha!
Girl, you get up into that tree and git yo’self some free figs! That’s the ghetto East side of me talking, lol. A friend’s mom had a vegetable garden that wasn’t fenced in and all the neighbourhood old ladies would roll up in there and help themselves to produce. A fence went up pretty fast after all the veggies started disappearing! I want this drink in my face right now. In fact, just hook it straight up to my veins. It looks like all kinds of delicious!
JUMP THE FENCE!!!
Fresh figs scream fall to me almost as much as pumpkin! Oh how I love them so. This swizzle is the perfect way to get your fig drink on.
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