how to make a black rose cocktail martini

The Black Rose cocktail is a drink with the base spirit as whiskey and usually is made with bourbon. This is a variation of the much more popular and classic Sazerac drink. There are quite a few drinks with the name of Black Rose, many of which are not variations of this recipe but are completely different drinks.

This drink uses Bourbon as the base spirit, and the taste and flavour of the whiskey is enhanced by two other ingredients: Bitters and Grenadine. As with the Sazerac there is a sweetener that is used in the black rose cocktail which is the grenadine.Grenadine is a sweet syrup that is made from pomegranates.

This drink is made in an old fashioned glass, just as Sazerac and Old-Fashioned cocktails are.

Ingredients

  • 2 shots of Bourbon
  • 2 dashes of Grenadine
  • 2 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
  • Lemon peel to garnish

Recipe/Preparation

  1. Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice, about three-fourth of the glass
  2. Add 2 shots of Bourbon Whiskey
  3. Add 2 generous dashes of the grenadine
  4. Add 2 dashes of the Peychaud’s bitters
  5. Stir with a long bar spoon to mix well.
  6. Garnish with a twisted lemon peel
black rose cocktail with bourbon

Variations and Similar Drinks

Being a simple drink, the black rose cocktail does not have much variations. As I mentioned earlier, most of the other cocktails named Black Rose are different drinks rather than variations.

Sazerac can be viewed as a variation of this drink recipe. It also uses Bourbon or Rye as the base and bitters as one of the ingredients.

Tips and Notes

  • Grenadine is the sweetener in this recipe. You can increase or decrease the proportion of grenadine to suite your taste.
  • As this drink is served on the rocks, you can vary the amount of ice used. This will allow you to water down the whisky a bit if needed.