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Irish Rose

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (61)
Irish Rose image
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
2 fl oz Irish whiskey
1⁄2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1⁄4 fl oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water) 65.0°Brix
1⁄4 fl oz Monin Grenadine Syrup
1⁄2 fl oz Thomas Henry Soda Water (optional)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

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How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Coupe glass

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

Method

  1. SHAKE first 4 ingredients with ice.
  2. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  3. TOP with soda.

Garnish

  1. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over cocktail and use as a garnish with skewered cherry.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Irish Rose contains 183 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 16.81% alc./vol. (33.61° proof)
  • 18.9 grams of pure alcohol

Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

History

A recipe for a Wild Irish Rose cocktail first appears Geo. R. Washburne and Stanley Bronner's 1911 book Beverages De Luxe, "As served at Auditorium Hotel, Chicago, Illinois and attributed to "Samuel Foote, Manager Liquor Department".


WILD IRISH ROSE
Use highball glass.
One-half lime muddled.
Small toddy.
Spoonful Grenadine Syrup.
Three-fourths jigger Irish Whisky.
Lump highball ice.
Fill up with seltzer.

Geo. R. Washburne and Stanley Bronner, Beverages De Luxe, 1911


Broadly the same recipe is repeated as:
- "The Irish Rose" in Kendall Banning's 1912 The Squire's Recipes
- "Wild Eyed Rose" in Hugo R. Ensslin's 1916-17 Recipes for Mixed Drink
- "Irish Rose" in Jacob A. Didier's 1917 The Reminder
- "Wild Irish Rose" in by Joseph P. and Charles A. Sasena's 1933 Fine Beverages and Recipes for Mixed Drinks
- "Wild Eyed Rose Cocktail in Patrick Gavin Duffy's 1934 The Official Mixers Manual

Wild Eyed Rose Cocktail
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Z/2 Pony Grenadine
1 Drink of Irish Whiskey
Serve with cube of Ice and fizz with Carbonated Water.
Use glass number 4.
[glass No. 4 is depicted as a stemmed highball.]

Patrick Gavin Duffy, The Official Mixers Manual, 1934


All the above recipes are based on Irish whiskey with lime juice and grenadine served in a highball glass with carbonated water/seltzer. The exception to this is the Irish Rose in William T Boothby's 1934 The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them which specifies lemon juice (rather than lime), shaken and served in a cocktail glass without the addition of soda.

IRISH ROSE
Whisky....... 3/5 jigger
Lemon........ 1/5 jigger
Grenadine... 2 spoons
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass and serve.

William T Boothby, The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them, 1934


I was first introduced to this cocktail as a Wild Irish Rose by Dale DeGroff served straight up (as per the recipe above) as a riff on the Jack Rose. I have subsequently changed the name of this cocktail to a mere Irish Rose as I now consider the highball version with lime juice to be the authentic Wild Irish Rose.
[Thanks to research by Stephen Curtin, a fellow Discerning Drinker.]

Review

The gentle bite of Irish whiskey soured with lemon and sweetened with pomegranate syrup. The splash of soda which crowns this drink serves to lighten and add a touch of sparkle.

AKA: Wild Eyed Rose, Wild Irish Rose

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$2.30 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 12.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


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Comments & Discussion

Matthew Parshchikov
Interesting light and sweet drink. Add a little rose water drops for a nice accompanying smell to the lovely rose color
score: 1
Stephen Curtin
So with this info in mind, may I suggest adding "AKA: Irish Rose, Wild Eyed Rose" and "Variant: Serve with ice in a highball glass".
score: 1
Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member
Many thanks for all Stephen. I have added info above and will create a new page for the Wild Irish Rose highball serve.
score: 1
Stephen Curtin
It seems to be one of those kinds of drinks which goes under a couple of names (Irish rose, wild Irish rose, and wild eyed rose) and was sometimes served up in a cocktail glass and other times over ice in a highball glass. I'll add a few of the recipes I found in the replies below.
score: 1
Stephen Curtin
"The Squire's Recipes" by Kendall Banning (1912). "THE IRISH ROSE; For each person, use a large beaker and fill it with cracked ice. Squeeze into it the juice of one lime and add a sweet, golden-brown syrup known as Grenadine in quantities to suit the taste of the guest, usually about one pony. Then add one jigger of Irish whiskey, shake the concoction well together till it be thoroughly chilled, serve with straws and sip it slowly."
score: 0
Stephen Curtin
"THE REMINDER" by Jacob A. Didier (1917). "THE IRISH ROSE - Use a mixing glass. Juice of half lime. 1 barspoonful grenadine. 1 drink Irish whiskey. 1/2 glass cracked ice. Stir, strain in cocktail glass with a little carbonic water on top, and serve."
score: 0
Stephen Curtin
"Recipes for Mixed Drinks" by Hugo Ensslin (1917). "WILD EYED ROSE - Juice 1/2 Lime; 1/2 pony Grenadine; 1 drink of Irish Whiskey. Serve in highball glass with cube of ice and fizz with carbonated water."
score: 0
Stephen Curtin
So I did a little digging into the history of this drink and as far as I can tell, the Wild Irish Rose, first appeared in print in George R. Washburne's "Beverages de luxe" from 1911. "WILD IRISH ROSE - Use highball glass. One-half lime muddled. Small toddy. Spoonful Grenadine Syrup. Three-fourths Jigger Irish Whisky. Lump highball ice. Fill up with seltzer".
score: 1
John Hinojos Premium Member
What a delightful cocktail. The Irish Whiskey, lemon, and grenadine work well together. It has a hint of punch, but not sweet. We used homemade grenadine, but we have two pomegranate trees so the juice was nice and red. The colour of the cocktail was similar.
score: 1
Michael Cronin
Very enjoyable. My cocktail’s color was not even close to the pic. More an apple cider color from the whiskey.
score: 1
Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member
Colour is all about your choice of grenadine. Homemade hardly contributes any colour while some brands are very red.
score: 1
G. M. Genovese Premium Member
Surprised at how much I liked this. Used homemade grenadine. Left out the soda water at first, but the flavors begged for a splash. Struck me as an excellent punch.
score: 1

View 7 comments and discussion

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Difford’s Shop logo
$2.30 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 12.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

Checkout

* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.

Visit Difford’s Shop USA

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