The weekend is here and it’s time for an easy but delicious bourbon cocktail. The Black Rose hits that mark perfectly. It’s an easy stirrer that kind of a Sazerac-lite concoction. That doesn’t mean it’s lesser, it’s just a little more approachable and sweeter, which makes it feel right on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
The drink is a modern classic — from the New York bar scene of the early aughts — and adds a nice sweet fruity layer to the iconic Sazerac while removing the brash absinth variable. The idea is the same, the execution is easy, and the results are light and delicious. The mix of bourbon, cognac, fruity syrup, and bitters just works.
The key here is stirring up a simple and easy-to-make-at-home cocktail that delivers. The Black Rose is the perfect candidate so let’s dive right in!
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Black Rose
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. bourbon
- 1 oz. cognac
- 0.25 oz. grenadine
- 3 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters
- 1 dash of Angostura Bitters
- Ice
- Lemon Peel
This is all very easy to source. Use a good bourbon like Rabbit Hole Cavehill as the base. The four-grain bourbon has a good punch that shines through in cocktails and enough fruitiness to vibe with the cognac and grenadine.
I’m using Martingale Cognac which also vibes well here thanks to a deep dark fruitiness that’s light and playful. The rest is all available at any good liquor store.
What You’ll Need:
- Rocks glass (prechilled)
- Cocktail mixing glass
- Cocktail strainer
- Barspoon
- Jigger
- Paring knife
Method:
- Prechill the glass in the freezer (for at least 30 minutes).
- Add the bourbon, cognac, bitters, and grenadine to a cocktail mixing glass. Add a large handful of ice and stir until the glass is ice-cold to touch (about 15 to 20 seconds).
- Strain the cocktail into the prechilled glass sans ice. Express the oils from the lemon peel over the cocktail and discard. Serve.
Bottom Line:
Boozy and fruity is what comes to mind from the first sip to the last. The bourbon and cognac really bring out fruity tobacco notes in each other while the grenadine brings the sweet fruitiness to the table. This is amazingly easy to drink.
The overall vibe is almost like an adult boozy Hawaiian punch that leans into the booze. The fresh lemon oils really help this one pop with a brightness that’s enthralling. There’s a soft sense of spice that adds a nice extra “x-factor” to the whole drink and elevates it beyond the juicy fruit and into the iconic cocktail territory.
This is as easy to make as it is to drink. It’s great.