Jack Rose

After the surprising success of the Smashing Lady, I head back to the apple well with the Jack Rose. This pink drink was "a favorite of tough guys Bogart and Hemingway." This makes me feel better about liking Cosmopolitans. It's very simple and calls for grenadine. I haven't made my homemade grenadine yet so I settle for my store-bought "Stirrings" grenadine. This is a cinch to make. Juicing a lime and getting a thin slice of apple are the toughest parts. After last night's two drinks my wife has decided to abstain.

I don't have martini glasses, so it goes into my standard short glass. My wife takes a sip and instantly declares that "it tastes like whiskey." I had erroneously anticipated this the previous night with the same liquor, so I shouldn't have been surprised. This recipe only has the small amount of grenadine to add sweetness, so I guess the apple brandy "shines" through. I tell her that its not whiskey and that since she doesn't actually know what whiskey is she should probably stop using that as a description. "Perhaps," I suggest, "you should just say you don't like it."

I take a sip. I don't like it. I can see why one had to be a tough guy to drink it. The lime juice only contributes to the bitterness of the apple brandy. Nothing doing.

Rating: 2; Difficulty: Easy