Stirred, not shaken
What's It Wednesdays
It feels like summer. Time for drinks on the patio!
Do you use one of these?
ACHC #2001.002.1-.3
Yes, they are swizzle sticks. Plastic sticks with marketing promotions from Rolling Green Motor Inn and Indian Ridge Country Club.
ACHC #2009.019.6 Rolling Green Motor Inn, Andover, circa 1960, formerly at the intersection of Rt 93 and Rt 133 across from the I.R.S.
ACHC ##2007.049.1 circa 1960, Indian Ridge Country Club, 73 Lovejoy Rd, Andover
Swizzle sticks weren’t initially intended as marketing souvenirs. Their 18th century origin is attributed to Caribbean rum plantations where they were actual sticks broken off the Quararibea turbinate, a perennial shrub native to the Caribbean islands.The sticks branch into little arms at the end, providing a great utensil for stirring. Plus they can be broken to fit any length. In the Caribbean, swizzle sticks are often known as bois lélé.
Swizzling is the stirring technique of having the stick between your palms and rubbing your hands together to twirl the stick in the liquid, lifting the stick up and down in the mixture as you twirl it. Swizzling, was used to make a simple Caribbean drink, named (of course), the Swizzle. The drink of 6 parts water, 1 part rum plus an aromatic flavoring has been traced to St. Kitts, as well as Barbados, Martinique, Trinidad, and Guyana as early as 1870.
By the 1920’s, swizzle sticks of glass or silver had spread to Europe and the US to stir the carbonation out of champagne and other beverages, when the “bubbles” bothered one’s digestion.
Swizzle sticks had their heyday in the 1950’s through 1970’s with tiki bars, cocktail lounges, and hotels that capitalized on the marketing aspect of those little, plastic stick souvenirs. People loved to collect them. Pam Ashlund, of Los Angeles, a member of the International Swizzle Stick Collectors Association and an avid collector has over 50,000 swizzle sticks in her collection!
I remember playing with the swizzle sticks in my parents' drinks when I was a kid. They were perfect for getting the cherries!
Do you have a swizzle stick collection?