Farmer Bottega’s Rosie Elephant inspires one’s inner Rainbow Warrior

When the Farmer’s Bottega bartender Shannon Pierce created The Rosie Elephant, she looked to local farmlands and African savannas for inspiration.

“It really originated out of nowhere!” she says. “I had tasted all of the ingredients separately – the gin, the lemonade, the jalapenos. I thought, wow, these would all go great together!”

Pierce accessed the typical farm-to-table ingredients in the Bottega’s larder to accentuate the Elephant Gin’s subtle infusion of apple and buchu, an African herb, with hints of mint, rosemary, and blackcurrant.

“I thought of using apple slices, but apples are not a common bar fruit,” she said. “Instead, I realized, rosemary was staring me in the face and we had some chopped jalapenos at hand too.”

But the first go-around with the jalapenos left too little to the imagination, Pierce says.

“At first, I was muddling the jalapenos, but found that was a big no-no,” she says. “I love spice, but the average person doesn’t love it as much as I do. So a quick little shake of the jalapeno slices is all it needed for that right bit of spice.”

The Elephant Gin, Pierce discovered, stays clear of the deep juniper forests of other gins and even keeps its own featured herbal underbrush at bay.

“Some gins can be piney, like you’re out in the woods, in pine country,” she says. “But Elephant Gin has a natural sweetness with the apple, and the African herbal buchu has a nice way of working with its apple hints.”

Not only will the Rosie Elephant inspire one’s inner Rainbow Warrior (the German makers of Elephant Gin donate a percentage of profits to the African elephant’s preservation), but its graceful parade of flavors never lets the palate forget the parts for the whole.

“The great thing about the Rosie Elephant is that it has so many layers of flavor,” Pierce says. “What hits you initially is the citrus and light sweetness – and a little tart and a hint of spice, but it’s not overpowering. Then the gin’s botanicals and, lastly, the rosemary.”

The Farmer’s Bottega’s Rosie Elephant

• 2 oz. Elephant Dry Gin
• ¾ oz. Lemon Juice
• ½ oz. Rosemary Infused Simple Syrup
• 2-3 Slices of Jalapeno

• Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker with ice, shake, and pour into Mason jar with ice, and garnish with rosemary sprig.