February 11, 2022 – Pink.  Red.  Roses.  Chocolate.  It’s Valentine’s Day and we have cocktails that pay homage to the day but also delight year ‘round.

Could there be anything more romantic than a pink gin made from the roses in an Irish garden distilled with botanicals from the mountains nearby?  If you haven’t tried Glendalough Rose Gin put it on your to-do list.  Besides its pretty color, it is an intriguing gin.  Yes, you can smell the roses and other lovely floral notes that come from the long list of interesting botanicals.  Juniper is there, but muted as is heat.  We found ourselves enjoying floral freshness with wafts of botanicals like early morning in a damp meadow.  Yet there’s enough spiciness to make this a gin lover’s gin.   We’re looking forward to trying the Hibiscus Rose cocktail below.

Old Cuban from Bacardi Rum is always a favorite and always a winner.  It’s one of those cocktails that makes an ordinary day special and a special day amazing!  Sip it and slip back in time to the romance of old Havana.  And since it is Valentine’s Day, who can resist a cocktail with a name like A Rosé Grows in Kentucky combining Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon with a splash of rosé wine.  This we have to try!  It looks fabulous.

Whether spending Valentine’s Day alone or with friends, you deserve the best and in our book, that would be a luscious Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch combined with melted white chocolate.  Created by whisky expert Kevin Canchola, White Haute Chocolate is a warming and festive cocktail that is easy to make single-serve, for two, or batched for a group.

Recipes

Hibiscus Rose

• 1.5 oz Glendalough Rose Gin 
• ½ oz hibiscus tea syrup* 
• ½ oz fresh lemon juice 
• Prosecco
• Dried lemon wheel and rose petal for garnish

Method: Pour the Rose Gin, hibiscus tea syrup and lemon juice into a shaker. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a coupe glass and top with prosecco. Garnish with a dried lemon wheel and rose petal on top.

*Hibiscus tea syrup = Steep 7 hibiscus tea bags in 33 oz of water for 15 minutes. Add 16 oz of sugar and stir until dissolved.

Bacardi Old Cuban

• 2 oz Bacardi Reserva Ocho Rum
• 2½ oz Martini & Rossi Prosecco
• 4 mint leaves
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz lime juice
• 2 dashes of bitters

Method:  Combine all the ingredients (except prosecco) in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Double strain into a coup and top with prosecco. Garnish with a mint leaf float.

A Rosé Grows in Kentucky

Courtesy of Fitz Bailey, Coopers’ Craft Mixologist

• 1.5 oz. Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon
• .75 oz. simple syrup
• .75 oz. lemon juice
• 1 egg white (optional)
• 1 oz. rosé wine

Method: Shake egg white, add other ingredients, shake again, shake one final time with ice. Strain into a rocks glass, top with rosé, and garnish with rose petal.

Photo credit: Dominic Episcopo

White Haute Chocolate

Created by Glenfiddich Brand Ambassador Kevin Canchola

• 1 part Glenfiddich 14
• 1 pinch sea salt 
• 8 parts milk
• 8 parts white chocolate
• Star anise (for garnish)

Method: Stir milk and white chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add a pinch of sea salt. Pour into mug + add Glenfiddich 14. Garnish with star anise. Here’s the copy and the first photo of Hibiscus Rose.

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