Wild Rose

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Cocktail History

The Wild Rose is an original cocktail included in The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book by Lou Bustamante. It was created as a riff on the classic Prince of Wales cocktail and is named after Lady Rose MacClare, one of the more fun-loving and rebellious female characters in the show Downton Abbey. It swaps out the whiskey base for tequila—a spirit that would’ve been known in 1920s England but less common because it was from the Americas, where Lady Rose eventually moves.

Cocktail Ingredients

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

Tequila Blanco: This is the base spirit that adds agave flavor. We used El Jimador Tequila Blanco because it’s clear, light, and flavorful, and it’s affordable.

Dry Sparkling Wine: This is the other spirit. It’s poured on top at the end to make the drink boozier and add bubbly’s sparkling wine flavor and effervescence. We prefer Villa Bellezza Winery’s Brillante because it was our wedding wine and we love its light and airy taste.

Pineapple Gum Syrup: This is a sweetener that adds fruity pineapple flavor. We made ours using Alex’s sous vide recipe.

Maraschino Liqueur: This adds cherry flavor. We used Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur for its earthy aroma and sweet, creamy cherry flavor.

Angostura Aromatic Bitters: This is a type of spirit infused with botanicals. They add more spice and complexity to the drink and tie the other flavors together.

Orange Twist: This is the garnish. It adds fresh citrus aroma.

Tasting Notes

The Wild Rose features aromas of cherry liqueur and sparkling wine, a bright but dry initial taste with a tingle from the bubbly’s carbonation, and notes of agave and pineapple as it goes down.

Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: When we made the Wild Rose, we tweaked the ingredients slightly and used homemade pineapple gum syrup instead of a chunk of pineapple. Although similar to the classic Prince of Wales, we thought it was a refreshing but dry sipper that’s bubbly and bright while still being a bit brooding in the after notes, a very fitting recipe for Rose.

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book by Lou Bustamante.

Tools & Glassware We Recommend

More Bubbly Cocktails

If you like this sparkling wine cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:

• Nucleus Mimosa: A sparkling wine cocktail made with orange juice, cranberry juice, and a lime slice

• Airmail: A gold rum cocktail made with lime juice, honey syrup, sparkling wine, and a lime peel

• Pomegranate Gin Fizz: A gin cocktail made with grenadine, sparkling wine, pomegranate seeds, and a Demerara sugar cube

• British 75: A gin cocktail made with lemon juice, simple syrup, sparkling wine, and a lemon wedge