Rose Goes to the Clover Club

Light, refreshing, sweet, tart and perfectly floral, rose adds a beautiful flavor to the classic cocktail the Clover Club. Easy to make and sure to impress; use aquafaba to keep it vegan.

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Rose Goes to the Clover Club cocktail came to me in the Rose Garden at Balboa Park in San Diego. I was walking around and smelling the roses one sunny day. I smelled this beautiful rose and immediately started thinking of all the flavors that would pair with it. Lemon is an obvious choice, and raspberry seemed like it would be a perfect addition to the two. I immediately sat down on a bench thinking about what would work and decided that gin, raspberry, lemon and rose would be perfect together. There were the elements of the cocktail good to go!

In looking up cocktails I realized that there was already a cocktail that had raspberry, lemon and gin. The classic Clover Club Cocktail. Instead of egg whites use aquafaba to keep it vegan. This was the cocktail I wanted, I just wanted to add rose. So Rose Goes to the Clover Club was born. Plus I was hoping the rose would perfume the egg white froth on the top of the drink, and yeah it does. It is so good!

Give this a try whether or not you pair it with the Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet, you will not be disappointed with this drink. It is simple to make, it is unique and beyond all that, it is DELICIOUS! There is not really a wrong time to have this cocktail to be honest, although if you do need something for Valentine’s Day give this a go, your partner will not be disappointed.

Rose Goes to the Clover Club Recipe Notes and Substitutions

Raspberries– I used fresh raspberries, but you could use frozen, just thaw them a bit before using. If you do not like raspberry, strawberry would be the next best option.

Alcohol– Use gin or vodka in this recipe, I have tried both and they both work. I went with gin when I made it however because I felt it pairs with the Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet better. The flavor form the juniper really works so well with the goat cheese and the beets. Furthermore, the Clover Club cocktail uses gin, so it made sense to stick with the spirit of this cocktail.

Egg white– I use pasteurized egg whites to reduce the risk of getting sick. With that being said, if you use fresh eggs you should be fine, and it does produce a bit better result with the fresh egg white. For a vegan option use aquafaba, it will work the same! Be sure to dry shake this ahead of time to get it frothy. Dry shaking is shaking all the ingredients in the cocktail shaker without ice at first. Then it is chilled down with ice just to get it cold. Dry shaking helps get the volume, and you want on the foam top. When you add ice, try not to shake it much. Too much shaking with ice could destabilize some of that beautiful foam you worked hard to make.

Rosewater– You can find rosewater online or at a Middle Eastern or an Indian Market near you. It is a potent flavor! It is essentially water distilled through rose petals, and it holds onto that rose flavor so well. A little goes a long way! Use too much and you will be tasting soap; no one wants that. The amount you add will depend on the amount of rose flavor you like. If you want a kiss of rose, use the 1/8 tsp, if you want more rose use the 1/4 tsp. Either way it will be good, I like 1/4 tsp. However, much more than this and the rose will take over. Perfume breath sounds a lot better than it is.

Why this pairing works.

Ok on the surface, raspberry, rose, and beets may seem odd, but it is an incredible pairing. First, raspberry and beet work so well together. Raspberry has a beautiful sweet, tart and slightly earthy flavor profile. The earthiness here comes in part from the seeds. Beets have a very obvious earthy profile, but are also beautifully sweet. So raspberry and beet are actually pretty similar. The underlying earthiness from the raspberry seeds mimics the flavor of the beet. The sweetness of the two helps to complement one another. But the tartness the raspberry brings is where the magic happens. The tartness of the raspberry (and lemon in the cocktail for that matter) tame the sweet dirt flavor of beets (try and find a better way to describe beet flavor, you can picture sweet dirt as beets).

Tart flavors reducing the dirt flavor of beets is also why tangy goat cheese pairs so well with beets. The lemon helps to make everything fresher. Then comes in the little bow of the rose. Rosewater can be AGGRESSIVE. So go light at the start. It is not like cucumber water, it is like vanilla extract but can go soap. So start smaller and you can add more as needed, but the moment you go overboard there is no going back. The rose pairs so beautifully with the raspberry and lightens up the rustic beet. Rosewater also adds to the finish and linger of the cocktail. It helps freshen the bite and your palate by ending on a light note. In terms of how the flavor goes I picture rose as uplifting, whereas beet is heavy. The uplifting nature of rose adds a perfect dimension to the pairing.

This is not only an impressive looking pairing, this pairing is seriously delicious. So if you need a Valentine’s Day idea, a nice addition to an afternoon tea or just want something amazing, try this Gluten Free Goat Cheese and Beet Rose Tartlet with the Rose Goes to the Clover Club.