The Jack Rose is traditionally made with American applejack such as Laird’s, but I really love it with Calvados such as the 5 year by LeCompte. In order to be Calvados, certain requirements must be met, including using only certain apple varieties and a minimum period of aging in oak barrels (two years).īoth applejack and Calvados are smooth, apple-flavored spirits, but Calvados is typically a more refined product. Today, applejack is commonly made by blending apple brandy with neutral grain spirits.Ĭalvados is an apple brandy made in Normandy, France. The frozen portion was removed, leaving the alcohol behind.

Originally, applejack was made by a process called “jacking.” Apple cider was fermented and then left outside in the winter to freeze. His name was William Laird, and today Laird’s is still the best known brand of applejack in the world. It’s been made in the US since the late 1690s when a Scottish immigrant first started distilling it in New Jersey. Nothing compares to the sweet and sour, intensely fruity flavor of real grenadine! What is applejack? What’s Calvados?Īpplejack is a brandy made from apple cider. Most grenadine syrups sold in grocery stores are little more than red-colored corn syrup, so read the labels if you decide to go with store bought syrup. Make your own in less than 10 minutes with my homemade Grenadine Recipe! It is very easy to make at home, and the flavor and versatility of the syrup make it well worth it. Grenadine is a classic cocktail syrup made with pomegranate juice. May (who was also known as Jack Rose).įun fact: The Jack Rose was the favorite cocktail of famed author John Steinbeck. There are conflicting stories about who invented the drink, but the first Jack Rose recipe appearing in print credited a New Jersey bartender named Frank J. However, the most likely origin of the name is a combination of apple jack and the rosey red color that the drink gets from grenadine. There are many stories about how it got its name, from a type of rose called the Jacquemot, to a New Jersey bartender named Joseph Rose, to an infamous criminal named Bald Jack Rose. The Jack Rose has been around in one form or another since the early 1900s, reaching the height of its popularity in the ‘20s and ‘30s. History of the definitive apple brandy cocktail

This ultra smooth, fruity, and flavorful Jack Rose recipe is made with Calvados, real grenadine, and freshly squeezed lime juice. Like many classic cocktails, the exact ingredients and ratio of those ingredients is debatable, so I’m sharing my preferred recipe, historic specs, and tips to make it your own! It was a favorite cocktail of John Steinbeck, and appears in The Sun Also Rises by author and drinker extraordinaire Ernest Hemingway.The Jack Rose is a classic cocktail made with applejack or apple brandy, grenadine, and citrus. The Jack Rose also has quite the literary resume. The drink was not named after him, or invented by him, but it seems destined to be associated with him. Rose then helped pin the hit on a member of the NYPD’s anti-gambling squad, who was almost certainly innocent. Bald Jack Rose was a hit man who killed a gambler named Herman Rosenthal. The confusion arises from another fellow named Jack Rose who popped up in the news in 1912. May’s nickname was Jack Rose, and the cocktail was quite appropriate given that it was made with Applejack and is rose-colored. May, a bartender at Gene Sullivan’s Cafe in Jersey City, around 1905. History: There are a few different backstories floating around for the Jack Rose, but in his book Imbibe! David Wondrich states with confidence that it was invented by Frank J. But it bridges the gap between girly cocktail and classic cocktail quite nicely. The pomegranate really helps bring out the apple flavors. The Jack Rose is the quintessential Applejack cocktail, and (what do you know?) it includes grenadine.

Applejack old fashioned recipe