Well, technically it’s not March anymore, we know. The reason for our tardiness is that originally we wanted to do something quite different for March, but couldn’t find a single bottle of Kirchwasser in all of Helsinki. Perhaps we’ll get some on our tour, and can supply you with some unaccurate historical reproductions in May!
Stepping on Roses is a variation of both the Mimosa and the Bellini. Drinks like these are often served at weddings, or as hair-of-the-dog drinks at other daytime parties. For us, it’s a staple welcome cocktail and a salvage for less agreeable sparkling wines. The rose fragrance is luxurious, and if you can find jam with petals, it gets even better.
♦ Stepping on Roses ♦
2 parts Rose petal jam
1 part Fresh orange juice
6 parts Dry sparkling wine
Place the rose jam and orange juice in a tall champagne flute. Stir well to mix the two. Pour in the sparkling wine, and stir very gently, not to lose the effervesence of the sparkling wine. Take your shoes off. Have a ball.
The name comes from our song The Mascot Moth, of course:
Why don’t you
Stop dangling from the chandelier, don’t go
Stepping on roses if your feet are bare, silly bear
Make no mistake, I am the hunter and you are the deer
Here’s the deal: If you sink to despair, search for me.
Listen to the song here:
Mimosas and Bellinis are usually served without garnishes but they are a festive detail. The function of the garnish in a coctail is not purely visual – with Stepping on Roses you might try decorating the drink with either rose petals or strips of orange peel, and see how the different garnishes affect the senses.
Ah, and we have just the cocktail in mind for April: The beautiful Maja with all the grace of a Polish belle! Be back soon!
– Laura & Jere
Café de Abejas 
nice! do you have a recipe for rode petal jam? and what is on the rim?
http://marlonhall.wordpress.com/category/cocktails/
Hi, Marlon!
We’ve been using ready made jam from an oriental store, since finding edible roses is not always easy in a country with 9 months of winter (we need to go raiding somebody’s rose garden in the summer). As soon as we get our hands on some edible roses, we’ll try out a simple recipe based on sugar, water and lemon juice. The rim is coated with sugar, although we’ve been using dried maraschino cherries for the Strawberry Gin, and it could fit Roses as well. Mainly the coated rim and the over-the-top garnishes are here for photogenic purposes :).
Nice blog, by the way!