Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Wild Hibiscus

This is so very cool...


I was reading through my Twitter stream a while ago and saw a link from @nandita (of Always Order Dessert) for a cocktail made with champagne and wild hibiscus flowers preserved in syrup. That immediately went on my list!

The flowers are from an Australian company called Wild Hibiscus, and I found them at BevMo. The company is dedicated to providing a quality product, but the price isn't too outrageous for such an interesting drink. A jar of 11 flowers cost me about $8, and I would gladly buy more. The flowers are edible, tasting like strawberries and rhubarb. And it comes with a small cocktail guide, including the champagne cocktail that initially drew me in. Easy, impressive, and oh so tasty!


Wild Hibiscus Royale
Wild Hibiscus Flower Garnish
¼ oz natural rose water
2/3 oz Wild Hibiscus Syrup
Mint
Champagne

Muddle mint in the champagne flute & discard (squash some leaves around inside the glass). Place Wild Hibiscus Flower in bottom of glass & stand upright. Add rose water & some bruised torn mint pieces. Top with Champagne. Lastly, pour in the Hibiscus syrup which will graduate from crimson at the bottom to light pink at the top. Tip: pour syrup in first for a layered effect. The flower will sit in the bottom of the champagne flute and slowly open up over 3-4 minutes.

 

4 comments:

Chris Muir said...

Hi Misty,

Thank you for mentioning us in your musings and the pictures you took of the Royale Cocktail look fantastic! We have just put up our Facebook page www.facebook.com/WildHibiscusFlowerCo which has some new exciting recipes for everyone to play with.

Have a wonderful summer!!

Cheers Chris.

Michelle A'etonu said...

oh, I want this and have friends that would love it. where do I get rose water from?

Run Lori Run said...

Very exotic looking but for some reason I just can't do rose water... :)

D. @ Outside Oslo said...

That's beautiful. I bought some tea with hibiscus from the KaDeWe in Berlin while traveling earlier this month, and it has the most amazing flavor. The ingredients in your cocktail sound perfect for a spring afternoon tea or luncheon!