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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 Sips From Scripts original variation calls for an incredible homemade 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. We used La Marca Prosecco because it has a crisp and refreshing taste with floral notes. For a low-proof version of this drink, try Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine.
Tequila Blanco: This is a spirit made with unaged agave and water. We used Casamigos Tequila Blanco because it has a sweet agave flavor with notes of grapefruit and vanilla. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Agave Blanco Spirit in place of the tequila.
Elderflower Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with elderflowers, citrus, herbs, sugar, and alcohol. We used Edinburgh Gin Distillery Elderflower Gin Liqueur because it’s high quality and has a fresh, floral aroma and flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Monin Premium Elderflower Syrup in place of the elderflower liqueur.
Strawberry Syrup: This is a sweetener made with strawberries, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Rose Water: This is a flavored water made by steeping rose petals in water. We used Cortas Premium Rose Water because it’s high quality.
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. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We 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. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut citrus into slices or wheels. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used one from the I-MART Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.
Tasting Notes
The Garden Rose starts with prominent strawberry aromas, has a taste that blends the sweetness of strawberry, floral elderflower, and agave notes with effervescent bubbliness, and finishes with an aftertaste that goes down with the Prosecco’s sweetness and a refreshing strawberry flavor.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: This is such a tasty spring drink. Not only did the syrup we made impart the beautiful red color we were hoping for, but it also distributed the fruit’s flavor perfectly throughout the cocktail. That, along with tequila’s natural harmony with the fruit and florals, made The Garden Rose one of our favorite recipes of the season. We both really loved it!
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I found this drink to be much tastier than I expected. Instead of a whole muddled strawberry, we made a strawberry syrup using the sous vide method, and it turned out so flavorful. The syrup added a lot to the mix, in my opinion; the color was beautiful and we avoided all of the straining, mess, and seeds that would have come with using a muddled strawberry. The tequila and sparkling wine combination was a nice change as well because the agave notes played well with the sweetness of the bubbly. Overall, this was a refreshing, light, floral, and fruity cocktail that would be right at home at any warm-weather gathering.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I can’t believe it took us almost two years to make a drink using a strawberry syrup. Granted, the original recipe for The Garden Rose didn’t even call for it, but we 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 drinks we’ve tried this spring, and I will be requesting it again!”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from an issue of Town & Country magazine.
Add tequila, elderflower liqueur, strawberry syrup, lemon juice, rose water, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Cut small strawberry into a rose.
Garnish with strawberry rose.
Ingredients
Directions
Add tequila, elderflower liqueur, strawberry syrup, lemon juice, rose water, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Cut small strawberry into a rose.
Garnish with strawberry rose.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine, Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Agave Blanco Spirit in place of the tequila, and Monin Premium Elderflower Syrup in place of the elderflower liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Spring Cocktails
If you like this spring-inspired cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
The Cherry Blossom: A sake and gin cocktail made with maraschino liqueur, grenadine, triple sec, lemon juice, and a cherry
Tequila Honeysuckle: A tequila cocktail made with honey syrup, lime juice, and a lime slice
Lavender Sour: A gin cocktail made with lemon juice, Green Chartreuse, lavender syrup, egg white, and dried lavender buds
Mountaintop Meadow: A vodka cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, simple syrup, lavender bitters, dry sparkling wine, a pineapple wedge, and mint
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