The only problem (well, it’s only kind of a problem) with blogging about cocktails is that once you’ve explored as much as you can with the bottles you have, you get/have to buy new spirits, bitters and liqueurs to expand your range. I certainly don’t mind trying new things, but there’s a balance between having a nice home bar and gaining enough of a collection to resemble commercial bar setup – it’s great for drinking, but I also don’t want to clutter things up.

I think the answer is that I will open a speakeasy in my basement to support my habit of buying slightly-lesser-used spirits. Stay tuned for updates on that.

And in the meantime, I have a hybrid system: The 15-ish most frequently used items go upstairs on the bar. The rest of the esoterica goes downstairs with the wine. So far it’s working for me. And there is way more space to expand in the basement. 🙂

I recently made a batch of homemade grenadine and it turned out to be a very large batch of grenadine – you may remember it from the Clover Club cocktail from a little while back. Well, if possible, I think I found a cocktail for it that I like even more – and it involves me buying a new bottle of booze. Hence the intro.

Looking through classic cocktail recipes led me to my next investments (and I use that term lightly, because these are both inexpensive): regular ol’ brandy and applejack. I haven’t even used the brandy yet. Because I have been making lots of these Jack Rose cocktails instead.

Lemon juice, pomegranate syrup and applejack. It’s a sweet and sour combination that is not unlike candy. It’s a little dangerous in that respect – this drink goes down VERY easily.

But I love it for that reason. So many cocktails are quite bitter, or they require the imbiber to already appreciate the base spirit. Somebody who doesn’t like gin won’t like a classic martini.

I think just about anyone would enjoy a Jack Rose. I think it will be a solid back-pocket crowd pleaser in my entertainment arsenal going forward.

Here’s what you need:
2 oz. Laird’s Applejack
1/2 oz. grenadine (preferably homemade!)
1/2 oz. lemon juice
Twist of lemon to garnish

Shake the applejack, grenadine and lemon juice in a shaker full of ice until very, very cold. Double strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel.