Penthouse Flip

For the creme de la creme.

1 1/2 oz. Mount Gay Extra Old
1/2 oz. Drambuie
1/2 oz. Royal Rose Cardamom-Clove Syrup
1/8 oz. honey
1/8 oz. dark chocolate sauce
Bitter End Mexican Mole bitters
1 whole egg
grated cinnamon
cacao nibs

Dry shake rum, drambuie, syrup, honey, chocolate sauce, and bitters with the egg until frothy, about 1 minute.  Then add 4-5 cracked ice cubes; continue to shake for another minute.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with grated cinnamon and cacao nibs.

Thai Islander

For sipping poolside, on a porch in summer, or anywhere else that calls for a tall, icy glass.

1 3/4 oz. rum (light or dark)
3/4 oz. Royal Rose Tamarind Syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
3 slices ginger, muddled
1/2 dropper-full of The Bitter End Thai Bitters

Shake ingredients and strain into a tall glass filled with ice.  Top with soda water.  Garnish with a lime wedge and serve with a straw.

Rum Flip

Sailors love rum flips! I bet they've never tried one with the spicy and satisfying flavors of Royal Rose Cardamom-Clove Syrup and a hint of maple syrup.  If they did, they'd all be hanging out drinking on the poop deck and no one would get any work done.

1 3/4 oz. Barbancourt Special Reserve aged rum
1 egg
1/2 oz. Royal Rose Cardamom-Clove Syrup
a few drops of real maple syrup

Dry shake the egg and syrups for a minute; add the rum and several ice cubes. Shake vigorously.  Strain and top with freshly grated nutmeg or cinnamon.

Dog Island Shrub

1 1/2 oz. dark rum
1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
1/4 oz. Royal Rose Rose Syrup
1/4 oz. raspberry shrub (recipe below)
1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Combine ingredients with ice and shake.  Strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a raspberry or lemon twist.

Raspberry Shrub:
1 part apple cider vinegar (unfiltered, if available)
6 parts Royal Rose Raspberry Syrup

Isla de la Pirata

This drink knocked me on my ass last night.

1 1/2 oz. blended scotch whiskey
1/2 oz. aged rum
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. Royal Rose Strawberry-Fennel Syrup
1/2 dropper-full Bittercube Jamaican #1 bitters
splash of pear or peach nectar

Combine ingredients over ice and shake vigorously.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Resist the urge to guzzle.

White Cyclone

Bittermens mole bitters and our Three Chiles Syrup take this to the limit.  Drink straight up or on the rocks.

2 oz. white rum
1/2 oz. Royal Rose Three Chiles Syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 dropper-full Bittermens mole bitters

Add ingredients to a Boston shaker half-full of ice; shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lime twist.

ICI Fall Benefit

This post is very overdue, but we were honored to be a sponsor of the ICI 2011 Fall Benefit.  Work by artists including Tauba Auerbach, Trevor Paglen and William Wegman were featured at the silent auction, and John Waters received the prestigious Leo Award.

 Here is Forrest at the event with the lovely Elizabeth Butters (my proxy):

Royal Rose's contribution to this fantastic event was our Cardamom-Clove Syrup which the bartenders used to make this outstanding cocktail with Starr African Rum:

ICI-tini

1 1/4 oz. rum

1/2 oz. Domaine de Canton

3/4 oz. apple cider

1/2 oz. Royal Rose Cardamon-Clove Syrup

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

2 dashes angostura bitters

Shake over ice, serve straight up.  

Midnight to 6

Forrest made this one while I was waiting for him to start a movie (for forever...). But it was worth the wait. Get ready to have your socks knocked off.

Midnight to 6
1 1/4 oz. dark rum
1 1/4 oz. Snap
1/2 oz. Butterscotch sauce (recipe below)
1/2 oz. RR Rose Syrup
1 dash of Angostura bitters
splash of half & half, to taste
freshly grated nutmeg
freshly grated cinnamon

Combine ingredients over ice in a Boston shaker.  Shake and serve either over one large ice cube or straight up.

Butterscotch sauce
3 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Fall Plum Toddy

Warren Bobrow just can't stop making incredible cocktails! Try this one, with Autumn Plum syrup, Chai tea, and Moroccan bitters.  Read the full article here.

Fall Plum Toddy (adapted from an original recipe by Warren Bobrow)
1 pot of Chai tea
2 shots Roaring Dan's Maple-Flavored Rum (or use 2 shots dark rum plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup)
1 shot Snap
splash of Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
5 drops Bitter End Moroccan Bitters
2 tablespoons Royal Rose Autumn Plum Syrup

In a cocktail shaker, add rum, vermouth, and bitters over ice.  Shake to combine.  Stir in Royal Rose Autumn Plum Syrup.  Strain into a teacup or mug; pour hot tea over a metal spoon and into the cup.  Enjoy!

Picture by Warren Bobrow

Almost-Fall Overdraft

 I drank this one in celebration of not one, but TWO overdraft notices from my bank in the mail today!  Go, me!

1 oz. cachaça
1 oz. dark rum
3/4 oz. Royal Rose Autumn Plum Syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
lime twist

Combine ingredients over ice in a Boston shaker and shake vigorously.  Serve straight up in a chilled coupe glass.  Garnish with a lime twist.

Tuesdays with...Forrie?

Forrest and I made a lot of Three Chiles syrup yesterday.  It's one of my favorite syrups to make, because the color is just so pretty--a deep, dark, warm red--and you can actually see flecks of the ancho chiles, even after straining.

If you haven't tried Royal Rose Three Chiles Syrup yet, let me say that it isn't overwhelmingly hot.  It tastes fruity, sweet, smoky, and spicy.  Lots and lots of peppers, both fresh and dried, give the Three Chiles syrup a really unique and assertive flavor.  Try it with tequila (a slam dunk!), or rum.  At the Royal Rose tasting at Blue Apron Foods a few weeks ago, one person bought a bottle to drizzle on top of vanilla ice cream.  That sounds dangerously good.

Try this drink on a hot night (or day).  It really hits the spot.

White Heat
2 oz. white rum
1/2 oz. Royal Rose Three Chiles Syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1-2 dashes bitters

Combine ingredients over ice in a Boston shaker.  Shake vigorously.  Serve on the rocks with a lime wedge and a salt rim, if desired.