The original swizzle stick, known as bois lélé, is a traditional Caribbean bar mixing tool made from the Quararibea turbinata tree. It has a history going back more than 400 years.

At some point, rum entered the picture and the resulting drink eventually became known as a swizzle — and the stick used to stir it became known as a swizzle stick.

Bartenders in the Caribbean have been swizzling drinks with a wooden stick, particularly for sour-style cocktails made with rum and crushed ice, like Bermuda's rum swizzle.

As such, they are the only cocktails that require this mixing technique. However, some bartenders believe any cocktail that's usually shaken can be swizzled.

Both shaking and swizzling combine the ingredients, dilute the alcohol, chill the drink, and add froth. Swizzling also saves a step since it's done in the cocktail's serving glass.