Juliet and Romeo Cocktail

More About This Recipe

• If you’re like me, roses may remind you of drawer sachets and someone’s sweet little granny.
  
  No more!  Roses, along with lavender and hibiscus and other floral notes, have been making steady inroads into your cupcakes, your ice cream . . . and it appears, your cocktails!
  
  It’s a fun trend, but frankly I’ve been a bit hesitant on the subject of blossomy-tasting food and drink.  That is, until a friend introduced me to the Juliet & Romeo cocktail at Twin Cities’ Bradstreet (under the same ownership as Chicago’s venerable Violet Hour, the birthplace of the Juliet & Romeo).  The Juliet & Romeo combines gin, muddled cucumber, fresh mint, lime juice, bitters (which seems like an odd mix) – however the finishing touch, a few drops of rosewater, mysteriously ties everything together.  The result is unbelievably refreshing and light, but also complex and kind of decadent - the perfect end-of-summer drink.
  
  I was pleased to find that this recipe is so easy to make, yet produces a very excellent cocktail comparable to the excellent version I had at Bradstreet.  (That’s not always the case with “found” recipes!)  A few pointers were provided to assist with creation of a “Violet Hour” quality drink.  The first was Beefeater brand gin (but honestly, I used another nice brand of gin and it was still quite lovely).  More important, in my opinion, is the garnish – a floating mint leaf holding a single drop of rosewater which provides a tiniest bit of rose scent before your first sip!
  
  Spread the Cocktail Love
  
  While I hope you are as excited about the Juliet & Romeo as I am, here are a few other cocktail recipes I can't resist:
  
  Elderflower Mojito Cocktail
  Lychee Martini Cocktail
  Flirtini Cocktail
  Mandarin Cosmo Cocktail
  
  Cheers and XO!
  
  Michelle
  
  Michelle Palm created the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen blog after discovering a lack of cocktail-style jelly shot recipes. Look for her posts here, and check her Tablespoon member profile often to see what she’s already gelled up!