Swizzle stick

Three common coffee swizzle sticks

A swizzle stick is a small stick used to hold fruit garnishes or stir drinks. The original swizzle sticks were created in the 18th century at a rum plantation in the West Indies. They were used to stir up Bermudian cocktails called Rum Swizzles and were made from the branch of the Quararibea turbinata (also known as the "Swizzle stick tree"). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stir sticks made of glass were created to shake out the bubbles from champagne, whose carbonation caused indigestion for some drinkers.

See also

• Quararibea turbinata

External links

• "Swizzle stick to detect drugs". BBC News. August 7, 2001. Retrieved 2008-07-11.