The origins of the yellow bird cocktail are unclear.

Some sources mention that the cocktail was named after the Haitian Creole folk song “Choucoune” composed by Michael Mauleart Monton in 1893 with Oswald Durand’s poem (1883).

It is said that Durand wrote the poem while jailed for criticizing political leaders. Inspired by a lovely bird that lit on his cell window, it reminded a girl, Marie Noel Belizaire whom he had met and admired. He wrote the poem extolling her dark beauty.

That was completely rewritten and recorded in English as “Yellow Bird” in 1957 by Norman Luboff, and became a sort of a national anthem of the Caribbean being performed by the biggest singers at the time.

Yellow Bird cocktail is of a kind with different variations and some folks argue that it was not named after the song but obtains the name from its colour combination of Galliano liquor and tropical fruits.

It is worth mentioning that, the recipe recognized by the International Bartender’s Association does not include any tropical fruits.