Our little red cocktail, made with fresh raspberries, vodka, and rosemary tastes even better than it looks. I know that is hard to believe because these photographs are particularly amazing. Jackie is really finding her way around the camera, bringing great life to this drink we created: our Red Russian.
Rosemary simple syrup is something I have been seeing around a lot. I have been toying with ideas as to how we could integrate it into some recipes. We happened upon some beautiful, plump raspberries at the market the other day, and a light bulb went off in my head. The ingredients for a Red Russian Cocktail were coming together.
I love the idea of serving this cocktail in a martini-type glass. I coated the rim with a mixture of sugar, salt, and a bit of finely chopped rosemary for color. A sprig of fresh rosemary finished the presentation beautifully.
Just as we finished the pictures for this, we heard a knock at the door. We opened it to find our neighbors, who immediately eyed the colorful drinks with curiosity. Thinking quickly, we handed them the drinks and I ran to the kitchen to make two more for Jackie and me. Now Jackie is biased; she likes practically everything I put in front of her. So I was happy to get the “thumbs up” from our friends for this newest concoction. Moral of the story: make a pitcher.
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Red Russian with Rosemary Infused Syrup
A beautiful fresh alcoholic drink made with fresh berries and rosemary. Very smooth and full of flavor.
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 2 drinks 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
- ¾ C water, divided
- ½ C sugar
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 4 oz Vodka
- 8 oz club soda (or raspberry sparkling water)
- ¼ C coarse salt
Instructions
- To make rosemary infused simple syrup:
- In a small sauce pan combine ¼ C water and ¼ C sugar and heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from heat and drop 1 rosemary sprig into solution for 2 minutes.
- Remove rosemary and refrigerate until cool.
- To make raspberry juice:
- In a small sauce pan, combine 1 pint fresh raspberries, ¼ sugar and ½ C water and cook over low heat and stir to break down berries for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and strain mixture thru fine mesh strainer to remove seeds. (discard seeds)
- Refrigerate to cool mixture.
- To assemble drinks:
- In a shaker add vodka, 2 oz simple syrup, 4 ounces raspberry mixture, and 1 C ice.
- Shake until well combined and mixture is cold.
- Strain into 2 glasses with a rim mixed with sugar and salt.
- Add 4oz club soda to each drink and garnish with a sprig of rosemary
- Simple syrup and raspberry mixture can be stored in refrigerator for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Beverage
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
That is a gorgeous drink! I love the flavors and the look of it. Compliments to both for the recipe and the pictures!
Jackie says
thanks so much Nicoletta!! You are too sweet.!!
Anna @servingdumplings says
These images are mouthwatering and look fabulous!
Keith says
Thank you so much, I love the pictures she took. Some of my favorites
Lorraine says
Yum! Can't wait to make this 🙂
Jackie says
thanks Lorraine! Let us know how it turns out!!
Tiffany says
Made this today, it is absolutely delicious! However, I think the “4oz of Rosemary simple syrup” is a typo, we used a scant 4 tsp (per 2 drinks) and it was plenty sweet!
Keith says
Thanks Tiffany, We appreciate you giving this a try, Thanks for the feedback. I did make a slight adjustment to the recipe and think its generally an option based on taste preference, however i agree it could be cut back a little. We hope you give some of our other recipes a try.