The boy and his poison: The Rum Swizzle

It's impossible to go wrong with a swizzle. Lets face it, any drink genre that invented a stick and has that many z's in it can't help but raise a smile after even the most dire of Fridays. Furthermore what's not to love about a cocktail which is essentially a rum slush puppy with an absurd name.

Last weekend while everyone was shoulder deep in bunting and queen masks I was stuck at a family wedding watching glass after glass of crushed ice being wasted on rum and cokes before I finally convinced the hotel bartender to have a crack at a Rum Swizzle. This little gem looks great, tastes incredible and believe me, when its possible to walk someone through how to make one after a day of Wedding rations and Pimms, you can be confident the recipe is a piece of cake too.

You'll need:

• 50ml golden or dark rum
• 20ml lime juice
• 20ml grand marnier or any orange liqueur you have to hand 
• A few dashes of angostura bitters
• A blackberry to garnish
• Crushed ice

Make it:

• Add the rum, lime and grand marnier to a tall glass
• Add crushed ice to the glass till its 2/3 full
• Drop the bitters into the drink and stir with a straw (or better still a swizzle stick)
• Top with crushed ice, a blackberry and your squeezed lime