Happy mid-holiday Friday everyone. I trust your holiday is/was a good one. Mine was pretty good, and I did get a new cocktail book to play with: Meehan’s Bartender Manual by Jim Meehan. Meehan is a name that should be familiar, as I’ve made drinks from his PDT cocktail book a few times here. This book reads like a textbook. It is basically a step by step guide on starting your own bar, covering everything from layouts, to tools & techniques. It even has history and a chapter on proper bar service as well. Of course there are recipes in here, and I can already tell I’m going to be coming back to this well a lot in the upcoming year.
For this week, I chose a simple drink from his book: The Jack Rose. I decided on the Jack Rose mainly for its simplicity: three ingredients, no garnish, and a shake. That’s it. Let’s mix it up shall we?
Jack Rose:
2 oz. Laird’s apple brandy
.75 oz. lemon juice
.75 oz. grenadine
Shake with ice, then fine strain into a chilled coupe.
As you can see, I did not use the Laird’s brandy. I used what I had on hand. In this case, an apple brandy from Shortpath distillery in Everett, Massachusetts. The substitution played very well here. The Jack Rose is very, very smooth. It smells a bit sweet from the grenadine (Roses in my case). The first sip is very apple forward (no shit) but not overbearingly so. The grenadine comes in next, adding sweetness to the sip. The drink I made definitely requires more lemon juice. I was unfortunately a bit short in that department. I was only able to get half an ounce (if that) from the last lemon I had. I would definitely recommend not skimping on the acid here. The drink’s finish is reminiscent of a crisp apple bite, as cliche as that sounds. The good quality brandy is the star here, and it performs admirably.
The Jack Rose is a great drink to wind down after a hectic few days filled with rich food, and even more alcohol. I highly encourage consumption of Jack Roses this weekend, during the break between Christmas/Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve.
(Banner image found here)
That looks fucking great, my imaginary friend!
Oh it is.
Are we still talking about the drink?
[makes pouty face] I can’t drink until 3. No Fair!
Found a funny:
Pablo Picasso: everything you can imagine is real
Stephen King: oh fuuuuck
Dibs on Christine. I haven’t read the novel but I heard she was a sweet ride!
Delicious
Ooh new drink!!! Calvados would work I imagine!
Calvados would be the best Brandy for this application I would think
A friend just sent me a picture of a neighbor’s xmas decorations which were a pretty faithful recreation of the movie scene below:
Apparently a few neighbors didn’t appreciate the effort.
This is a new one for me, too. Is it worth sticking apple Brandy in your home bar?
It might be handy to give to “Uncle Richard” so as not to waste any fine liquor on him past a certain point.
I got a small bottle just because I figured it would come in handy. Worth keeping on hand I think
I wonder if this might work with a peach brandy? I may have to try this tonight.
I think it would. Definitely worth trying
I guess we now know who has peach brandy in the house.
For Russian Easter bread. You add a shot to the dried fruit in bowl and let that set before adding to the dough. Plumps them right back up, and the remaining liquid, not much, you put into the dough, as well. Gives it a wonderful flavor.
Well done. Not sure if I’ve had one of these in my extended drinking career; time for a revisit.