Jack Roses are red, violets are blue, here’s a Valentine’s Day cocktail just for you.
The Jack Rose cocktail is a little known cocktail that made an appearance sometime in the early 1900s. It certainly held its own alongside other Prohibition cocktail staples like the Sidecar, Rickey, and Ward 8, but hasn’t gotten quite the same modern revival. At the time though, this cocktail was a hit among literary celebrities like John Steinback and Ernest Hemingway, who even added it to his book, “The Sun Also Rises.”
A perfect Jack Rose blends together bourbon, lemon juice, grenadine, and its core ingredient – Apple Brandy. In fact, a lot of historians think that the rising popularity of Laird’s Applejack is why the Jack Rose was invented in the first place. Applejack has been brewed in New Jersey since about 1698 and combines apple brandy with neutral grain spirits. The result is a smooth, sweet spirit with a light hint of apple that perfectly balances the sour lemon juice and grenadine.
And speaking of grenadine… The pomegranate syrup is the cornerstone of tons of delicious cocktails due to its sour, sweet combo, so a grenadine that, well, tastes like pomegranate is definitely preferred. In our opinion, skip the Rose’s and make a batch of your own. With only half a tablespoon of vodka, homemade grenadine can last for about two months in the fridge and tastes infinitely better.
With homemade grenadine, fresh lemon juice, bourbon, and a glug of Applejack, the Jack Rose is sure to be the new apple of your eye.
Jack Rose
Equipment
- 1 Cocktail Shaker
- 1 Cocktail Glass (chilled)
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Apple Brandy
- ½ ounce Bourbon
- ¾ ounce Lemon Juice
- ½ ounce Grenadine
- 1 twist Lemon
Grenadine
- 2 cups Pomegranate Juice
- 1½ cups Sugar
- 4 tbsp Pomegranate Molasses
Instructions
- To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1 ounce of Apple Brandy, ½ ounce of Bourbon, ¾ ounce of Lemon juice, and ½ ounce of Grenadine.
- Shake together until well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled Cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a lemon twist.
Grenadine
- Add 2 cups of Pomegranate juice and 1½ cups of sugar to a saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir for about 5 minutes, add 4 tbsps of Pomegranate Molasses, and then continue to stir.
- Once the sugar is all dissolved, remove the mixture from the heat and let cool.
Notes
- The homemade grenadine can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
