The Garden Rose

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Cocktail History

The Garden Rose is a modern cocktail that was created at Gitano Jungle Room in New York City, New York. The original recipe is for a shaken drink that uses tequila, elderflower liqueur, citrus, rose water, and a muddled strawberry, but this Novel Nightcaps original variation calls for an incredible strawberry syrup in place of the muddled fruit and tops it all with sparkling wine for more complexity.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Sparkling Wine: This is a carbonated wine made with white or red grapes. I used La Marca Prosecco.

Tequila Blanco: This is a spirit made with unaged agave and water. I used Casamigos Tequila Blanco.

Elderflower Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with elderflowers, citrus, herbs, sugar, and alcohol. I used Edinburgh Gin Distillery Elderflower Gin Liqueur.

Strawberry Syrup: This is a sweetener made with strawberries, white sugar, gum arabic powder, and water. I made mine using this sous vide recipe.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. I used freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Rose Water: This is a flavored water made by steeping rose petals in water. I used Cortas Premium Rose Water.

Strawberry Rose. This a small red fruit that is soft and juicy and has yellow seeds on its skin. The garnish is made by cutting slits into a whole strawberry so it resembles the open flower.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut citrus into slices or wheels. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. I used one from the I-MART Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.

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Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Delicate orange-red color

• Aroma: Prominent berry and wine

• Taste: Sweet strawberry, floral elderflower, and smoky agave flavor with an effervescent bubbliness

• Finish: Sweet Prosecco and refreshing berry

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kendall’s Take: “I can’t believe it took almost two years of tastings before making a drink that uses a strawberry syrup. Granted, the original recipe for The Garden Rose didn’t even call for it, but I can’t resist making a new sous vide syrup when recipes call for muddled fruit. It’s hard to imagine this cocktail would be the same without it either. I loved how well the tequila paired with the tart berry flavor and sparkling wine’s effervescence. This is definitely one of my favorite spring drinks I’ve ever tried, and I will be making it again!”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from an issue of Town & Country magazine.