This past November my girlfriend and I were at the
Washington DC Prime Rib Piano
Bar with Rob. Rob is the consummate Bar Man at the Prime Rib. Listening
to some live jazz from the Pianist and Bass Player, it’s like you are back in
the 50's, waiting for Frank to come on the floor.
My girlfriend’s tastes have really become – how do I describe
this - extravagant, sophisticated?
No, she still won’t touch Campari. How about educated? That would be it!
So this evening, I was not all that surprised when
Rob asked what she’d like tonight and she ordered a Jack Rose Cocktail,
Up.
As I recall, the Jack Rose is considered by David Embury (’48
book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks) to be one of the six “classic”
cocktails. They are …
the Old Fashioned the Manhattan the Martini
the Daiquiri the
Side Car &
the Jack Rose
The Jack
Rose is clearly outnumbered and long ago forgotten. We only
stumbled upon it a decade or so ago. It’s a nice cocktail with a blend of sweet
(grenadine) and tart (lemon or lime). But what really makes it unique is the “applejack” brandy. This brings
it the distinctive apple flavor.
For me that evening, it was an Irish - Bushmills, served neat. Splash of water.
At one point my date asked me to taste her drink. I inquired if it was ok. She replied,
“Oh
yes. But it’s different from the one you make.”
So later when Rob checked in on us, she asked how he made the Jack
Rose Cocktail. He was initially concerned she was not pleased with
it. She said,
“to the
contrary. It’s delectable. Just different from what Constantine makes. “
Rob went on to explain that in as much as he did not have applejack
nearby he chose instead to substitute the French applejack, much higher end – Calvados. In addition, to enhance
the apple flavoring, he added some German
apple schnapps – Berentzen Apfel
Schnapps. About this time, I am thinking, this has become a high end “top
shelf” cocktail she is enjoying. As he went on discussing his creation, I was just amazed at his
thinking. For me, being less sophisticated in my mixology repertoire, I would have stopped at the Calvados. Rob, knowledgeable, inherently knew to add the apfel schnapps, to give it that extra
essence of apple flavoring.
Here’s to Rob at the Prime Rib. A Consummate Mixologist Bar Man.
Jack Rose Cocktail
2 parts Applejack
1 part lemon or lime juice
½ part Grenadine, fresh is better
Or take it up a notch, and make the “Jack Rose by Rob” cocktail.
Shaken,
served “Up” with slice of apple and cherry garnish
Appetizer: Potato Skin Basket
Music: Brubeck “Take Five”
