Sparkling Raspberry-Rose Rum Smash
Guys, I have two very important pieces of advice for you.
Firstly, when staging a cocktail shoot with chickens, do not use pink flamingo garnish picks no matter how cute they look. The chickens take it very personally. Such fragile little egos.
Secondly, you can't ever have enough sparkle. You just can't. Both in life, and in your cocktails. Jot that down. I'll wait here.
But you know what you can possibly have too much of (both in life and in cocktails)? Sugar. Don't get me wrong. I happen to like sugar. A lot. And it finds its way into many of my recipes. A lot. That's why I love having the option to use Sparkling Ice instead. Its naturally-flavored, zero calorie burst of flavor is a perfect, sweet substitute for simple syrup in my drinks.
And then there's that fizz. It's like jazz hands in your beverage.
We love raspberries. We love them so much we molt for them.
So let's make this berry-y, floral-y, fizzy-y tropical cocktail, shall we?
S P A R K L I N G R A S P B E R R Y - R O S E R U M S M A S H
Makes one cocktail.
1.5 oz. light rum
.5 oz. dark rum
1 oz. cold-pressed pineapple juice
.5 oz. fresh lime juice
.5 oz. rosewater
4 fresh raspberries/blackberries
1 rose petal cut into ribbons
1 oz. (top off with) Sparkling Ice Black Raspberry
Garnish: 1 rose petal, fresh raspberries and/or blackberries, and pineapple leaves
Ice: rose petal ribbons and fresh raspberries frozen in cubes
Start by making some damned fancy ice cubes. Julienne a few rose petals and drop them and some raspberries into an ice cube mold, backfilling halfway full with water. Freeze for several hours until...you know...they're frozen. Then do the same again and fill up the second half of the cube. This will give you an ice cube that is completely full of petals and berries. When you're ready to cocktail, prep your glass by filling with your decorative cubes.
To make the cocktail, place four berries and one julienned rose petal in the bottom of a shaker, then fill with ice. Add both rums, pineapple juice, lime juice, and rosewater. Shake thoroughly then strain into glass (if you don't like bits of raspberry or rose petal floating in your beverage, strain the mixture through a fine strainer). Top off with Sparkling Ice Black Raspberry, then garnish with berries, rose petals, and pineapple leaves.
Feather garnish not recommended.
This particular beverage is perfect for hanging onto those last days of summer: fruity, tangy, and refreshing without being overly sweet and syrupy. And did I mention fizz? Yeah. It's got that.
Go get you some sparkle.
PS: Does anybody know where I can get some pink chicken garnish picks? Asking for a friend.