Jack Rose

The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemmingway, 1926

1 oz. applejack

½ oz. grenadine

Seltzer, to top

Place the applejack and grenadine in a mixing glass, fill it two-thirds of the way with ice, and stir until chilled.

Strain into a coupe, top with seltzer, and enjoy.

At five o’clock I was in the Hotel Crillon waiting for Brett. She was not there, so I sat down and wrote some letters. They were not very good letters but I hoped their being on Crillon stationery would help them. Brett did not turn up, so about quarter to six I went down to the bar and had a Jack Rose with George the barman.

In a Paris hotel, narrator Jake Barnes waits for Lady Brett Ashley, the woman he’s drawn to but with whom he is doomed never to have a real relationship. When she fails to turn up, he passes the time by drinking a Jack Rose in the bar. There are many different origin stories for the Jack Rose, but it seems to have first shown up in the early twentieth century. Its name probably simply refers to its main ingredients, applejack (apple brandy) and grenadine, which gives it a rose-colored hue. The Jack Rose can be enjoyed by anyone, doomed lovers or not!