What I’m Drinking: The Rosé Squirt
Hey, no offense to January (I mean, it is the first month of the year, birthing, so to speak, a new time of new beginnings and fresh starts and resolute resolutions and all that, and it tends to start with a smooch, so it definitely has some pluses as a month, however . . .), but by the end of January I’m usually ready, well ready, for it to be over, and usually ready, well-and-truly ready, for some springtime springing. It just gets a little drab, our first month of the year. Maybe not everywhere in the globe! And maybe not for everyone!
But for me, I could use a dosage of spring snazziness in my step, and in my glass, right about this time every year – and, wonders of wonders, here is the Rosé Squirt, ready and waiting for me to take the first sip. It is not a combination of rosé wine and the carbonated soda Squirt (if you were thinking so, though an 18-year-old me might like that – heck, a currently-too-old-to-be-specific-about-dates me might like it too). It is a combination of nutty, dry maraschino liqueur (go with a good brand here – I’m using Luxardo Maraschino, which I’m fond of, and which has been made by the same family from Marasca cherries since 1821, and which boasts hints of chocolate, vanilla, and marmalade notes) rosé wine (the springtime-iest of wines perhaps), and bubbly club soda, with a good maraschino cherry (you couldn’t go wrong with Luxardo maraschino cherries here, too, pals, because they are wondrously delicious) as a final accompaniment. Combine those delights and you have spring in a glass (note: also works beautifully as a summer sipper): refreshing, budding with flavor, light-on-its-feet, lovely. Have one today, and know that actual springtime isn’t too far away.
The Rosé Squirt, from Wine Cocktails
Ice cubes
1 ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
3 ounce dry rosé wine
Chilled club soda
Luxardo maraschino cherry, for garnish
1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the maraschino liqueur and rosé. Stir briefly.
2. Fill the glass almost to the top with chilled club soda. Stir again, a bit more than briefly. Drop a cherry on top and serve.
