Rosemary and red wine syrup makes this cocktail aromatic and complex rather than sticky and sweet
Makes 1 7.5ml red wine syrup
2 rosemary sprigs, plus one to garnish
45ml three-year-old rum
60ml pink grapefruit juice
Ice cubes
Soda water, to top up
For the red wine syrup:
100ml red wine
100g caster sugar
You will need:
Pan, funnel, cocktail shaker, muddler and strainer
1 To make the red wine syrup, place the wine and sugar in a pan, stir well and heat gently to a simmer (do not boil). Keep stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved then remove from the heat. Leave to cool before using a funnel to pour the mixture into a clean glass bottle (you can store this in the fridge for up to 1 month).
2 Meanwhile, to make the spritz, muddle the rosemary in a cocktail shaker.
3 Add ice, along with the red wine syrup,rum and pink grapefruit juice, then shake vigorously to chill.
4 Strain into a glass with fresh ice and top with soda. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
Bartender’s note: The structure of red wine is what really adds to the depth of flavour. It goes well with darker spirits, too. Avoid anything too aged and stick to good-value, mellow wines such as rioja joven from Spain, shiraz from Australia or merlot from Chile.
Taken from Home Cocktail Bible by Olly Smith (Quadrille). Photography: Matt Russell. We feature a tipple each month in The Simple Things. Buy our May issue to find more seasonal ways to celebrate late spring.
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