JACK ROSE

Early 1900s American.

COUPE
ETHANOL 19 G131 KCAL FROM ETHANOL3.9 OZ SERVED

SPEC

2 oz · 60 mlAPPLEJACK40 %
¾ oz · 22 mlLEMON JUICE
½ oz · 15 mlGRENADINE

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

METHOD

  1. 01SHAKE ALL WITH ICE
  2. 02STRAIN INTO CHILLED COUPE
  3. 03NO GARNISH

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

STRENGTH // WORKED

Pre-batch3.25 oz mixed with ice, 0.8 oz of it pure alcohol
MeltShaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.65 oz of water
Served3.25 + 0.65 = 3.9 oz in the glass
Strength0.8 ÷ 3.9 = 20.5 % ABV as served
Ethanol0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone

IN THE GLASS

PHLORIDZIN

FROM APPLEJACK · the apple polyphenol

Formula
C₂₁H₂₄O₁₀
Mass
436.41 g/mol
IUPAC
1-[2,4-dihydroxy-6-[(2S,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxyphenyl]-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propan-1-one

The apple-skin polyphenol, the molecule that gives hard cider its astringent backbone and tannic structure. Concentrated in skin and core, so cider pressed from whole apples carries far more than juice made from peeled fruit. Pharmacologically interesting too: phloridzin blocks intestinal glucose absorption, which is the mechanism modern SGLT2-inhibitor diabetes drugs took their inspiration from.

CITRAL

FROM LEMON · the lemon aroma

Formula
C₁₀H₁₆O
Mass
152.24 g/mol
IUPAC
(2E)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienal

Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.

CHEMISTRY

Applejack, lemon and grenadine. Apple esters such as ethyl hexanoate sit under citral from the lemon; non-volatile phloridzin stays in the still. Grenadine brings pomegranate pigment more than aroma. A pre-war classic, Prohibition-adjacent.

PROVENANCE

Named, by competing accounts, for the New York gambler 'Bald Jack' Rose, for a Jersey City restaurateur known as Jack Rose, or for the Jacqueminot rose whose color the drink resembles. Applejack, grenadine, lemon. Jake Barnes drinks one in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises while waiting for Brett at the Crillon.

BRANDY // NEARBY