Tempt your taste buds with a simple old fashioned dressed up with floral notes from a rose-honey simple syrup. Top off the cocktail with a splash of apple bitters and you've got a bright cocktail to sip on the porch in the spring while the roses come in.
2 ozbourbonI used New Riff Bottled in Bond Bourbon
2dashesBar Keep apple bitters
Garnish: long orange peel rolled into an orange rose and a few dried rose buds
Instructions
In a mixing glass, combine rose-honey simple, bourbon and bitters. Add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass with large cubes of ice. Garnish with the orange rose and rose buds.
Notes
For the Rose-Honey Simple:1 tablespoon dried rose buds1 cup water3/4 cup honeyBrew the rose buds in boiling water for 8 minutes like you would a tea (I used my teapot). Strain 1/2 cup of the tea into a glass measuring cup. While still hot, add 3/4 cup honey and stir well to combine. Let cool completely and keep in the fridge. It will keep for a couple of weeks, and a little longer if you add a bit of vodka to it before storing it. You can drink the remaining tea on its own, or make some of it into a rose simple syrup by adding 1/2 cup sugar to it.