Third Wave Swizzle

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Cocktail History

The Third Wave Swizzle is a modern tiki cocktail that was created by Ryan Lotz at Shore Leave in Boston, Massachusetts. The recipe is essentially a tropical twist on the popular Espresso Martini that was inspired by Don the Beachcomber’s style of mixing unique syrups with other ingredients. This one calls for a gin base and pairs it with honey, lemon, spicy ginger, and cold-brew coffee concentrate and serves them up in a swizzle format.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Gin: This is a spirit made with juniper berries, botanicals, and alcohol. I used Door County Distillery Gin.

Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water. I made mine using this stovetop recipe.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. I used freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Cold-Brew Coffee Concentrate: This is a coarsely ground coffee brewed with cold water for 14-18 hours.

Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger, white sugar, gum arabic powder, and water. I made mine using this sous vide recipe.

Lemon Twist: This is the peel of a lemon that has been twisted into a corkscrew shape.

Coffee Beans: This is the a seed of the Coffea plant.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Bar Spoon: This is used to stir ingredients. I used the Barfly Stainless Steel Teardrop Bar Spoon.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut citrus into slices or wheels. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Tweezers: This is used to place the garnish on the drink. I used one from the Stainless Steel Food Tweezers Set.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2025-01-16.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Frothy orange-brown color

• Aroma: Herbal-tinged coffee

• Taste: Unique citrus-forward flavor laced with sweet honey, spicy ginger, bold coffee, and botanical gin

• Finish: More honey and slightly bitter coffee

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kendall’s Take: “I wish you could’ve seen the look on my face when I tasted this drink for the first time. There’s no other way to describe it: It’s just a weird one… but not in a bad way. I had never tasted any coffee drink like it before, and that makes it hard to describe. It has an herbal quality from the gin (which a gin base in a tiki drink is unique in itself), a twinge of spice from the ginger, sweetness from the honey, and then the coffee explodes onto your palate. If you’re a coffee lover interested in a tropical-inspired take on the Espresso Martini, you need to add the Third Wave Swizzle to your must-try list.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes by Chloe Frechette.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2025-01-16.