swizzle stick

Three common coffee swizzle sticks

A Bloody Mary cocktail with a swizzle stick.

Swizzle sticks are small sticks placed in cocktails to hold fruit, or merely to stir the drink. Commonly made of plastic, the origin of the name is uncertain but rum drinks made with sugar and citrus juices have been called swizzles since at least the 19th century.

In 1933, Jay Sindler invented a swizzle stick with a spear-point on one end. Sindler, an engineer, was trying to get the olive out of his martini without using his fingers. Sindler was granted a patent on his swizzle stick in 1935 and started a company, Spir-it, to sell them.

Organizations often customize the paddles of swizzle sticks with corporate logos or other designs, making swizzle sticks popular with collectors.

A common mistake is that the larger "paddle" end should be used to hold the swizzle sick with, it is in fact the "paddle" end that should be used to stir the cocktail as it creates the most disturbance in the fluid. This misconception is due to corporate logo's being placed on the "paddle" end and them wanting the customers to see said logo.

Plastic swizzle sticks composed of two very thin tubes joined together are often used as a disposable means of stirring coffee.

See also

• Cocktail stick
• Cocktail umbrella

References

• Swizzle Sticks. Daily Lush Magazine. Accessed February 17, 2007
• Heritage. Spirit Brands Official Website. Accessed February 17, 2007.

Donate to Wikimedia