I’m not ordinarily one for pink drinks – you know, those sugary concoctions that make your teeth hurt just by looking at them. Last Friday, however, I had an education thanks to Nigel Price and Lanique, a rose-petal liqueur new to SA’s shores.
It may look like it was recently dreamed up in a modern lab looking to create the next big drinks thing, but Lanique is actually a revival of a 200-year-old recipe. A favourite tipple among the aristocracy of Prussia and the Austrian Empires, its recipe included attar of rose – rose oil made from steam-distilling thousands of petals and worth more pound for pound than gold. But with the rise of communism and the isolation of Eastern Europe in the ’30s, the drink went the way of the Romanovs.
Until now, that is. (And minus the whole ‘worth its weight in gold’ thing, of course.)
Keen to try it? Order one of ‘The Seven’, the brand’s somewhat ominously named official cocktail list. Lanique poured over crushed ice with a tot of fresh lime juice was by far my favourite of the day, though the Laniquetini was a close second.
Get the rest of the recipes here or give Sir Richard Branson’s personal favourite a try – the Rose Gin Cup a la Branson: ‘a delicate and floral mix of Lanique, Bombay Sapphire gin, lemon juice, lemonade and El Muro Rose Wine’. Always marches to his own beat, that guy.
You’ll find Lanique in Cape Town at La Parada, or visit the Lanique pop-up in Heritage Square this evening for a custom shooter to celebrate First Thursdays.
Photography Courtesy
CapeTownEtc I don’t care what they say Pink Drinks are delicious..