Things get off to a good start when Australian restaurant royalty opens a cocktail bar staffed by New York hospitality legends. that’s the way it is Bobbie’sRestaurateur Neil Perry’s dramatic and moody Double Bay cocktail bar (margaret, Side Door And songbird) and Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson, owners of the famous bar Dante in New York.

Bar manager Weston Lou (Dante graduate) is excited to bring New York cocktails to Australia. “The booze and alcohol (in Sydney) is different than what we can get in America, so we’ve had to tweak and change the menu a lot,” he says. “I think the cocktails turned out better here because we relied more on products that we knew would be really great here and tried to incorporate a lot of local flavors and ingredients like passion fruit, mango, lychee and tropical fruits.”

At Bobbie’s, Lou and the team have curated a menu of creative riffs on classics, primarily Martinis and aperitivo, that prioritize simple combinations of well-matched flavors and premium ingredients over grand complexity.

This is summed up in Lou’s Pink Paloma recipe. He created a simple, three-ingredient cocktail that lets ingredients like rosemary-infused sugar syrup, grapefruit juice, and Don Julio Rosado do the heavy lifting.

“Don Julio Rosado is a version of reposado tequila, but different in that it is finished in ruby ​​port (wine barrels),” says Lou. “It’s still made with the same high-quality ingredients and high-quality style, but it comes out a little differently with the ruby ​​port barrel aging process. “It has more red fruit notes and is a very soft tequila that is easy to drink on its own.”

The simplicity of Lou’s three-part cocktail means it’s worth getting the best quality ingredients possible. Other than Don Julio Rosado, this means juicing your grapefruit yourself if possible.

The third ingredient here is the rosemary sugar syrup, which, although homemade, shouldn’t pose much of a technical problem. “It’s pretty easy to make at home; just equal parts sugar and water,” says Lou. “You just want to heat (the sugar and water), add some salt to it — we use Maldon sea salt — and then a pinch of rosemary. Heat it, bring it to a boil over low heat, let it cool slightly, and remove the rosemary when you’re done.

The cocktail is also easy to put together. Lou first adds Don Julio Rosado and ice to a glass before adding salted rosemary syrup and grapefruit juice. Then she stirs it with a bar spoon and garnishes it with a slice of grapefruit dipped in salt for an easy cocktail that’s high on flavor and low on complexity. “It’s absolutely refreshing,” says Lou. “It is very light, easy to drink, there is a slight bitterness but it is not too strong. It showcases a nice quality tequila that is not overly complex.

Recipe: Weston Lou’s Pink Paloma

Makes 1 serving (Approximately 1.6 standard drinks)

Contents:

50 ml Don Julio Rosado
60 ml freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
15ml salted rosemary syrup

Method:

To prepare the salted rosemary syrup, add equal amounts of sugar and water to a pot. Heat and add a pinch of Maldon sea salt and a pinch of rosemary.

Boil over low heat and let cool before removing the rosemary.

For the Pink Paloma, add Don Julio Rosado and ice to the glass. Add salted rosemary syrup and fresh grapefruit juice.

Stir with a bar spoon until the ingredients are completely mixed.

Garnish with grapefruit slices dipped in salt.

This article was produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Don Julio. Tequila Don Julio Rosado A 750-milliliter bottle sells for $249.99.

Produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Don Julio.
Learn more About partner content on Broadsheet.