I have a wonderful nephew who has the same tastes that I do in almost everything from music and clothes to food and drink. Fortunately for me he is a totally generous soul who loves to share his spoils! I can always count on Michael for something new and wonderful! Last week, when he was visiting Cleveland we had a wonderful barbecue out on his parents back porch and for the palate cleanser he created a beautiful fresh soup of watermelon and Prosecco laced with a touch of cinnamon and chipotle pepper that he then ladled back into the watermelon to serve. When he travels the world as he is apt to do when wanderlust strikes, he brings me home treats from all of the places that he visits, fresh limoncello from Italy, real Absinthe from Paris, Chocolate with hot peppers from Rome, freshly pressed olive oil from Barga , Calvados from Normandy, candied violets from Provence.....

Michael recently moved to Portland, Oregon with his lovely girlfriend Molly and they are truly enjoying discovering their newly adopted city. They have a lovely little terrace (read as the size of a door!) and sit every night by candlelight sipping some new creation that they've dreamed up , enjoying the romance of living together for the first time! Michael makes one of the best whiskey sours that I’ve ever had, but with this recipe he has outdone himself! He has immortalized this cocktail as The Molly Rose, named of course after his darling girlfriend! I’ve attached his notes at the end.

I do think that fresh Meyer lemon and the rose water make a dynamite addition to the cocktail. Meyer lemons are wonderful, soft and sweet morsels bursting with juice that is almost floral in taste. They are a bit more expensive, but really worth it as they don’t have the bitterness of a traditional lemon. The rose water is a lovely addition and can be found at any health food store. I also think that if you wanted to you could use orange or lavender water. Either of these would impart a wonderfully unique flavour to the drink. The only thing that I have changed is the type of sugar used. His recipe calls for powdered sugar and I’ve used bar sugar. Molly is allergic to egg whites so the bar sugar would be a disaster for her! The addition of the egg white makes the drink a bit frothier. Either way, it’s seriously delicious!

“Hi Aunt Beth,
I think it's great.
It's a shot of meyer lemon juice. We both made it -- Molly came up with adding the rose water. I made the base - that is, it's my whiskey sour with slightly less whiskey to soften it for the rose. I think the proportions are about good. Molly thinks it will be better on the rocks; I liked it up.”

The Molly Rose

2 jiggers of excellent Bourbon, I love the Woodford Reserve or Blantons!
2/3 of a jigger of Grand Marnier
1/2 juice of a fresh Meyer Lemon (appx. 1 shot)
1/2 tsp rose water
2 tsp bar sugar (the kind with a bit of powdered egg white) (+/- 1/4 tsp based on preference)
Fresh Rose petals (organic please!) for garnish

Shake extremely vigorously for just a minute in a shaker filled with hard cracked ice. Serve however you’d like and enjoy!.