The Jack Rose Cocktail

Posted in Brandy on March 2, 2014

The Jack Rose was highly popular in the 20s and the 30s. Just like numerous other cocktails from that time, it eventually fallen out of fashion and it is not much known nowadays. In fact, in 2003 the Washington Post encouraged a journalistic experiment in which two writers were supposed to find a Jack Rose cocktail in any bar in Washington. It was impossible and they could only find a bartender who knew the recipe, but had no Applejack to make it.

 

The Jack Rose is a combination between Applejack, grenadine and lime juice. It has a sour taste, so if you are in for such flavors, you can try to prepare it at home. There are numerous suppositions on how the Jack Rose got its name. Some say that it was invented or named after a famous gambler while others assume it got its name from Joseph P. Rose who once held the title of World’s Champion Mixologist. These stories are not quite plausible. The most likely explanation is that the name of the cocktail is derived from the Applejack and from the color given by the grenadine syrup.

 

Making a Jack Rose cocktail at home is not very difficult. You only need a few minutes and an appetite for sourness.

 

The Recipe for the Jack Rose Cocktail

 

You need the following ingredients:

 

• 2 ½ oz. of applejack.
• ¾ oz. of lime juice.
• ¼ oz. of grenadine
• Lime twist for garnish.

 

Put all the ingredients except the lime twist in a shaker with ice and shake them well until they are chilled. This will take approximately half a minute of shaking. The entire cocktail is done in only a few minutes. Strain the cocktail in a chilled glass and garnish with the lime twist.

 

The Jack Rose can also be made using lemon juice. In fact, this is how it was made in the past, but in time the lemon was replaced with lime. You can use whichever, but if you go for the lemon, also use a lemon twist for garnish.

 

The grenadine amount can be changed as per your desire. You can add more or less than ¼ oz. depending on your personal preference. If you don’t want to use grenadine, you can replace it with any other red liqueur such as Chambord, cherry brandy or crème de noyaux.