As much as i would like (not) to pretend i love Valentines Day, I actually don't. Not that I'm bitter or anything... i just don't care much for it. Although, i do like to do something special for/with the people i deeply care for.
So in th spirit of butching it up on the most... how do i put it? Sappy-feeling infested "holiday", i give you Rosé Among the Thorns!
What is it exactly? It's a wine cocktail concocted by Serbesa MNL with Chris Urbano, Chef of Maputing Cooking, in mind. In his show, he would make it a point to show how to pair the delicious Pinoy dishes with the right wine. I was like, "GENIUS". That liempo doesn't always have to be paired with caramel colored sugar drinks people - yes Coca-cola I'm looking at you. On the road to taking Filipino cuisine global, a boutique wine distribution business was born.
Anyway, enough chitchat! Let's get to it.
What you'll need:
100ml Pizzini Rosetta
50ml Vodka
30ml Peach Juice
80ml Homemade Lemongrass Syrup (recipe below)
50ml Homemade Guapple Puree (recipe below)
Ginger Beer to top off (around 50ml)
Homemade Lemongrass Syrup
2 Lemongrass Stalks, chopped (use the white part only)
2 slices of lemon, remove the seeds as it will make it bitter
300g water
30g sugar, white
* Simmer for 15-20mins, or until lemon is almost falling apart or soft to touch. Strain and let cool
Homemade Guapple Puree
3-4 slices of guapple (use guava, if guapple is not available)
1/2 a lemon juiced
50ml water, or add as needed
* Blend until smooth
When you have your syrup and puree ready, it's time to have fun.
* In a shaker, add all ingredients except for the ginger beer.
* Add ice and shake
* Using a hawthorne strainer and a fine strainer, strain ingredients in a glass over some ice.
* Top off with some ginger beer.
* For garnish, cut off the roots of small stalk of lemongrass and place it inside the glass. It can also double as a stirrer for your drink to mix together the ginger beer with the cocktail. A slice of lemon and guava can also be added
Admittedly, this could be quite some work so i usually drink the wine on its own and just show up at Pop Ups where Serbesa MNL will be. ;)
Want to know more about the wine? Check out www.winebychrisurbano.com
Want to know more about the mind behind the recipe? Check out Serbesa MNL's Instagram
