Apples formed a strong pillar of the early pioneer spirit. Who hasn’t heard of the tale of Johnny Appleseed? It is important to realize however that apples in those days were almost more important for the making of cider (hard or otherwise), then they were for eating. Applejack has its roots back in those days, and thankfully continues on today.
One of the signature cocktails of Applejack is the Jack Rose. This cocktail appears to date back to before prohibition, and at one time was quite popular. Today, it is fairly rare to find bartenders who know it, although most cocktail books still include it in their ranks.
The Jack Rose is essentially just a “Sour”, in the same basic family as the Margarita, Daiquiri, Sidecar, and other such cocktails that we’ve already covered. Spirit + Sweet + Sour. In the case of the Jack Rose, the sweetener comes from grenadine, and the sour comes from either lemon or lime juice, depending on what recipe you happen to be reading. Older recipes tended to lean toward lime juice, while post prohibition recipes tended to lean toward lemon. Either work quite well, and both bring a slightly different flavor to the party. For the grenadine, I feel that it is important that a good quality, if not home-made, grenadine is used. The typical red-colored sugar water really proves itself unworthy with this particular cocktail.
If you look through a variety of recipes, you will also see that the ratio of the ingredients can vary quite a bit. I totally approve of trying to find your own favorite balance here, as long as you remember that the key word for this, and any cocktail, is balance. It shouldn’t be too sweet, nor should it be too sour, and it is also advisable not to allow the sweet/sour to overpower the already subtle Applejack. You can use my recipe listed here as a starting point, but by no means consider it the only true recipe for this wonderful drink.
Jack Rose
- 1 1/2 oz Applejack
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon (or lime) juice
- 1/2 oz grenadine
Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass
Garnish with a lemon (or lime) twist.
