025 – Jack Rose

A Sydney ‘lock-down’ version of the ‘Jack Rose’ cocktail, rarely seen in contemporary bars.

Sydney’s Covid Lockdown has inspired me to explore this famous cocktail. Let’s take a look at the classic ‘Jack Rose’ Cocktail and explore some of the cocktail’s history and clouded origin. This is a cocktail you are unlikely to have experienced, and here is the chance to make one at home, even in the middle of a lockdown.

Make your own Locktail, the rarely seen ‘Jack Rose’. Here is my Sydney Lock-Tail recipe re-invention:

METHOD — RASPBERRY SYRUP (prepare in advance) – Place 125gm fresh raspberries, 100gm caster sugar and 50ml water in a pot. Muddle raspberries and heat on a low flame until you see steam (do not boil or the flavour will change). Let sit for 30-minutes while cooling and then strain out solids. Strain again and chill. Refrigerate for cocktail use, should make over 200ml of Raspberry Syrup, suitable for at least six Jack Rose cocktails (and others on this list).

COCKTAIL MIX – Add 30ml Calvados, 15ml Pomme Verte (Cartron), 30ml of Raspberry Syrup (above), 15ml fresh Lemon Juice, 15ml fresh Lime Juice, 4-dahes of Orange Bitters (prefer Regan’s) and half an egg white (around 20ml) into a cocktail shaker. Dry shake (without ice) to break egg white protein bonds and start creating a foam (hold shaker closed, as foam can force shaker open). Add a handful of ice and shake again until cold (10-15 seconds). Double strain into a chilled Coupe or Cocktail glass. Float some orange zest oil on top and garnish with the residual orange peel.

HISTORICAL NOTES – The history of the ‘Jack Rose’ cocktail starts with Applejack – an apple cider based spirit, not very well known outside of the United States. Applejack was first produced in 1698 by Scottish immigrant William Laird in colonial New Jersey, and was also known as ‘Jersey Lightning’. Applejack was produced by ‘jacking’ apple cider, freezing the cider and removing the ice to increase the alcohol content, up to concentrations around 40 percent ABV.

Applejack, especially Laird’s Distillery, formed in 1780 by Robert Laird (William’s Grandson) was popular in the USA during the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, however it went into decline from the mid-1800’s due to competition from other spirits – bourbon, rum and whiskey, and later vodka and tequila.

Applejack made it into the 20th Century, however Two World Wars and Prohibition (1920–1933) almost ended the spirit. Most recipes that call for ‘Applejack’ use ‘Calvados’ instead, an Apple Brandy from Normandy, France, that is similar, but uses a different type of Apple and a different process. In more recent times, Applejack has been making a return, with specialist distillers producing the spirit.

The ‘Jack Rose’ is one of the few cocktails to originally specify ‘Applejack’, and that is most likely the reason for its decline. The first written mention is in a 1905 article in the National Police Gazette, that names New Jersey Bartender, Frank May as its creator.

The first surviving recipe for the ‘Applejack’ is by Jacob Abraham Grohusko in his 1908 ‘Jack’s Manual’, with the recipe calling for “1 teaspoon sugar, 10-dashes Raspberry Syrup, 10-dashes Lemon Juice, 5-dashes Orange Juice, Juice of 1-half Lime, 75 percent Cider Brandy, shake with ice, fill with fizz water and serve”.

There are at least half-a-dozen origin stories, and as usual Simon Difford outlines them incredibly well if you are interested on the Difford’s Guide website, here. It could be some part of any of these background stories, however for me the simple reason that ‘Jack’ is ‘Applejack’, and the cocktail has a distinctive ‘rose’ colour would be sufficient reason for the name.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The ‘Jack Rose’ doesn’t make any of the International Bartender Association (IBA) official cocktail lists. It basically disappeared in the 1940’s and only made a comeback with the Cocktail Renaissance of the late 1900’s and early 2000’s, and even then very, very rarely. There is no official mix, as Applejack still remains a relatively rare and difficult ingredient, and whether you use Calvados or a new Applejack, they both would taste different to the Applejack of the early 1900’s that would have retained impurities not acceptable in the modern distillation processes and health standards.

TASTING NOTES – Applejack is challenging to find in 2021, and almost impossible in the late 1900’s, so most people have not tasted this cocktail. Replacing Applejack with Calvados makes sense, but different apples and distillation processes are used. The cocktail also often calls for Pomegranate or other syrups or liqueurs that move away from the original recipes. All in all, it is very hard to get a baseline for this cocktail, other than it should taste of raspberries and apples. One of the interesting reasons for exploring this cocktail is that there are no classic base-spirits in the mix.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – I don’t (in Sydney Covid Lockdown) have access to Applejack, which is rare even in the USA. So I have differed from other Calvados replacement recipes in still trying to get a sweet Apple flavour. Instead of 45ml Calvados, I have shifted to 30ml Calvados with 15ml of Pomme Verte (from the quality Liqueur purveyor Joseph Cartron) – this combination is already delicious and you can taste the fresh Granny Smith Apples of the Pomme Verte.

I am also avoiding pre-made syrups or other liqueurs and choosing a fresh raspberry syrup as per the 1908 Grohusko recipe. This is key, as it gives the cocktail a fresh ‘raspberry-apple’ base. Then fresh lemon and lime juice in equal amounts, and some orange from Regan’s Orange Bitters (a great product) and some fresh zest oil from the orange garnish. Shaken with half an egg white, to bring it into the ‘sour cocktail’ genre.

This is a complex cocktail to make, that takes some commitment to source and build. If you are a fan of sweeter (but not over-sweet) cocktails, raspberry, apple and orange, then this may be your new favorite cocktail. It is going to be hard to revive the ‘Jack Rose’, 100-years after it’s ‘hey-day’, but you never know … this is an impressive cocktail, fully worthy of the 4-star rating.

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am progressively building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site. I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

This is the fifth of the 1911-1920 bracket of ‘Locktail’ remixes. See the full list in the index.