What looks like summer, smells like summer, and tastes like summer?
If you often find yourself near the beach, or anywhere harboring sandy soil for that matter, the answer is clearly Rosa rugosa.
This fragrant wild rose may technically be invasive, but its consistently colorful blooms signal many New Englanders that summer is on, and it’s time to stop and smell the flowers, or better yet, put them in your drink.
I’ve been making flora infusions for a number of years and can confidently say that there’s nothing like combining rugosa petals with your favorite gin. The gentle rose essence eases the juniper kick, and the gin’s bite gives a greater depth to your cocktail than a flatter alcohol like vodka (don’t get me wrong, vodka is also an incredible medium for infusions). Plus, it will give your G&T a beautiful light pink hue, and doesn’t that sound chic!
The recipe is easy to follow & hard to mess up:
- Clean Rosa rugosa petals (the amount from roughly 10-15 flowers, or a small baggie full)
- Gin (a normal bottle size, no nips & no handles)
- When picking the petals, I typically go for the ones that are about to fall off the flower but still have strong color.
- Once you have your harvest, check the petals for excessive pollen, dirt, bugs, tiny things you don’t necessarily want to see floating in your drink later.
- ***I do not recommend rinsing the petals, as the water can reduce the flavor. If they’re gross, go pick cleaner ones.
- Combine the petals with the gin in a wide mouth jar and let sit for 2-3 days, until the petals are saturated and opaque in color.
- Filter the petals by using a strainer, lightly pressing any alcohol from the more swollen pieces, and funnel the liquid back into the original gin bottle.
And voi la! Pour over ice, add a lime wedge, top off with tonic, and let your chic floral summer girl vibes begin!
Glamping Queen 
I love EVERYTHING about this blog!!! Beautiful, wise, interesting 💖
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