Cocktail of the Week: Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo’s ‘La Roseraie’
Dedicated to Grace Kelly, this Valentine’s Day Champagne spritz mixes the romance of the princess with the raciness of Monte-Carlo
Words: Phoebe Hunt
Valentine’s Day can be difficult to navigate — even for the most experienced romantics. Go in too hard, and you’ll risk scaring your significant other off. But ease off, forgo any celebrations and you’ll be committing a cardinal dating sin. Thankfully, there’s always alcohol.
And this cocktail is a beautiful thing. At once elaborate and simple, a little preparation the day before will provide you with the perfect Valentine’s Day drink. Make the rhubarb syrup the day before and all you’ll have to do on Valentine’s Day is pop open a bottle of champagne and stir together a very short list of ingredients.
"Valentine’s Day can be difficult to navigate..."
In Monte-Carlo’s glittering and glamorous shorefront Hotel de Paris, Le Bar American has become one of the world’s most iconic drinking spots. Head bartender Khalid el Hajraoui moves with the seasons to create signature his drinks — and always dedicates one to Valentine’s Day.
“We use red roses from the Princess Grace Rose Garden in Monaco for this cocktail,” he tells Gentleman’s Journal, “which was planted by Prince Rainier III in memory of his wife. The garden is called La Roseraie, which is what we call this cocktail in homage to the princess.”
If you’re hoping to really pile on the passion, you could even infuse your own vodka — by shaking a handful of clean petals into a bottle of Grey Goose a couple of days in advance.
Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo’s ‘La Roseraie’
Ingredients and Barware:
- Champagne Coupe
- 30ml Grey Goose Vodka
- 50ml Cranberry Juice
- 15ml Lemon Juice
- 30ml Homemade Rhubarb Syrup (see below)
- 2-3 drops of Rose Essence
- 100ml Champagne to top up
- Rose Petal to garnish, optional
For the rhubarb syrup:
- 200g Chopped forced Rhubarb
- 100g Sugar
- 100ml Water
Method:
- Make your rhubarb syrup in advance. Clean, peel and chop the rhubarb into chunks, then mix with the sugar.
- Bring the water to the boil and add the sugary rhubarb. Simmer for five minutes, then leave to cool down.
- Stir and then strain the liquid into a bottle. You can keep the pulp to serve on yoghurt or ice-cream.
- When you’re ready to make the cocktail, simply add all of the ingredients (except the champagne) to a shaker and shake well.
- Strain into a glass, top up with champagne and enjoy.
Want more cocktail inspiration? Here’s how to make Nightjar’s Pisco Sour…
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