Pink Gin with Rhubarb

This sophisticated Pink Gin spring cocktail is carefully crafted with a dash of bitters, a splash of rhubarb simple syrup, and of course-- gin.

Move over cosmopolitan!  

There's a new pink lady in town-- and she's DELICIOUS!  

This Rhubarb Pink Gin is a springtime take on the classic Pink Gin.  This classy cocktail is made with bitters, gin, and rhubarb simple syrup.

Want more SPRING + SUMMER COCKTAILS?  Try a classic Mint Julep, a Bourbon Sour with Lavender, or a Rosemary Bee's Knees.

What Are Bitters?

Cocktail bitters are a bitter infused alcohols for adding (well... bitter) notes to your drinks. You can find them at liquor stores.

Cocktail bitters get their 'bitter' flavor from things like bark, roots, and flowers.  They're sold in little bottles, sometimes with droppers, and are meant to be used in very small amounts.

Those tiny bottles are flavor-packed, and with only a drop or two, bitters can add a deliciously well-rounded finish to your homemade cocktails.

What Are the Best Bitters for this Drink?

What should you look for?  Unlike liqueurs, bitters usually have an ingredients label!  I love that the ingredients are listed, especially since a lot of products sold near the liquor don't have ANY type of ingredient label.

Most of the popular bitters brands include ingredients like corn syrup and food coloring.  In fact, the original Pink Gin drink gets its pink color from the bright pinkish-orange color from bitters with food coloring.

Personally, I try to avoid food coloring, so I look for bitters that don't include any. Brands like Jack Rudy and Scrappy's Bitters sell bitters with a cleaner ingredients list.  

Once you've found a brand that you like, you'll also notice that there are lots of different flavors available.  For this recipe I used aromatic bitters.

Making Rhubarb Pink Gin

To make a Rhubarb Pink Gin, start be making the rhubarb simple syrup.  

You'll dice up some rhubarb, add sugar and water, and then simmer everything for a few minutes until the rhubarb falls apart and the sugar dissolves.

Strain the now-pink sugar water into a container, and keep the cooked rhubarb for another rhubarb recipe (like these fish tacos!).  

You'll end up with more pink rhubarb syrup than you need for this recipe.  

Save it and use it to sweeten your iced tea, lemonade, add it to champagne, or pour it into a margarita!

Next, coat the inside of a cocktail glass with a drop or two of aromatic bitters.  

Add a little rhubarb syrup and some gin to a cocktail shaker with ice, and stir until it's chilled.  Strain the rhubarb-gin mixture into your cocktail glass, and enjoy this sophisticated springtime beverage right away!