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Cocktail History
The Garden Rose is a tequila cocktail that was created at Gitano Jungle Room in New York City, New York and first published in an issue of Town & Country magazine. The original recipe is for a shaken drink that uses the agave spirit, elderflower liqueur, citrus, rose water, and a muddled strawberry, but this Sips From Scripts variation we created uses an incredible homemade strawberry syrup in place of the muddled fruit and sparkling wine for even more complexity.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Tequila Blanco: This is one of the base spirits. We used Casamigos Tequila Blanco for its sweetness and notes of grapefruit and vanilla. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Agave Reserva Spirit in place of the tequila.
Sparkling Wine: This is the other base spirit. This recipe specifically calls for Cava, which is sparkling wine made in Spain, but we used La Marca Prosecco, a sparkling white wine made in Italy, for its crisp, refreshing taste and floral notes. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the wine.
Elderflower Liqueur: This is an alcoholic beverage made with a spirit and elderflower. We used Edinburgh Gin Distillery Elderflower Gin Liqueur because it’s high quality and has a fresh, floral aroma and taste. For a mocktail version of this drink, try elderflower syrup in place of the 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 adds sweet and sour citrus flavors for balance. We prefer to use fresh citrus juice because it’s less bitter than the bottled stuff and tastes better.
Rose Water: This is a flavored water made by steeping rose petals in water. We used Cortas Rose Flower Water because it’s high quality yet still affordable.
Strawberry Rose. This is the garnish. It’s made by cutting slits into a whole strawberry so it resembles the open flower. It adds more fresh strawberry aroma and flavor.
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. That, along with tequila’s natural harmony with the fruit and florals, made this one of our favorite cocktails 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 new 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 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 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 Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Agave Reserva Spirit in place of the tequila, Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the wine, and elderflower syrup in place of the liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
Tools & Glassware We Recommend
More Spring Cocktails
If you like this spring 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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