The Colleen; A Strawberry Gin and Rose Cocktail

This is a slightly modified version of a cocktail that I whipped up one night for my friend Colleen while everyone else was drinking whisky or some nonsense. It’s a super easy, fruity and floral cocktail, I think it’s pretty well balanced, not too sweet and still with a hint of gin. I used up the last of my bottle of Beefeater Pink for this cocktail, and I think that's a pretty good indication of how much I liked it. I highly recommended picking some up if you like gin and are a bit lazy (like me), or really like a fruity aspect to your drinks. 

The simple syrup I used in this recipe is a 1:1 ratio of rose water to sugar, and while you can use plain soda water I like to use whatever flavored water I have on hand. I garnished this with crushed freeze dried strawberries and dried rose petals, it looks pretty but I’m not sure that it adds much to the drink. I would recommend a sprinkle of the crushed strawberries if you have them on hand, and like that kind of thing, if not I wouldn't worry about it.

The Colleen

2 oz. Beefeater Pink
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. rose simple syrup (1:1 ratio)
2-3 dashes of aromatic bitters
​soda water

Combine the gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled (about 30 seconds to prevent too much dilution) and pour into coupe glass. Top with soda water. 

Well this is super late because kids...
​Cheers!