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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:
Dry Sparkling Wine: This is one of the base spirits. 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.
Tequila Blanco: This is the other base spirit. It’s a type of tequila made with unaged agave. We used El Jimador Tequila Blanco because it has a light and palatable agave flavor and is affordable. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Agave Blanco Spirit in place of the tequila.
Pineapple Gum Syrup: This is a sweetener made with pineapple juice, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, and citric acid. We made ours at home 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.
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: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“When we first made this, we took a couple of liberties with the recipe to make it both a bit more palatable to us and a bit more easy to make featuring our ingredients. This included the substitution of pineapple syrup instead of muddled pineapple and omitted the standard simple syrup altogether. This overall off-dry drink is very similar to the Prince of Wales but with some agave notes instead of rye spice, and in my opinion, it’s still good but not better than the whiskey version.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“Between this variation and the classic Prince of Wales, I think I like this one a bit better! The rye in the original is just a bit too spicy and overpowering, in my opinion, while the tequila does a better job of blending in. This combination of flavors still isn’t quite my favorite, so I don’t know that I would try it again. But it’s another unique one! And I love any chance we get to use our delicious pineapple syrup.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book: Appropriate Libations for All Occasions by Lou Bustamante.
Add tequila, pineapple gum syrup, maraschino liqueur, bitters, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with orange twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Add tequila, pineapple gum syrup, maraschino liqueur, bitters, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with orange twist.
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 Garden Rose (Variation): A tequila and sparkling wine cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, strawberry syrup, lemon juice, rose water, and a strawberry rose
Lavender Sour: A gin cocktail made with lemon juice, Green Chartreuse, lavender syrup, egg white, and dried lavender buds
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
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