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Home » Cook » Beverages » Cocktails » Rose Hip Whiskey Smash: Foraged Fall Cocktail

Rose Hip Whiskey Smash: Foraged Fall Cocktail

May contain affiliate links or sponsored content. Please see my privacy policy and affiliate disclosure.

Originally published on November 4, 2015. Last updated on December 4, 2020

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I have something really exciting for all of you today! I recently received a copy of Emily Han’s new book Wild Drinks and Cocktails, and let me tell you, this book is seriously awesome! It is all about wildcrafting herbs and plants and then making delicious drinks with them. Some have alcohol and some are booze-less, but all of the recipes look absolutely divine. I had a hard time choosing which one I would showcase here, but in the end I decided on Rose Hip Whiskey Smash cocktail made with rose hip syrup.

rose hip whiskey smash cocktail in a martini glass

Harvesting Rose Hips for Cocktails

The reason I chose rose hip whiskey smash out of all the incredible looking recipes in Wild Drinks and Cocktails, is that I’ve been eyeing a bunch of wild rose hips up the road.

I’ve been wanting to pick them, and now I have a reason to! This rose hip cocktail will be the perfect way to use them.

Foraging for rose hips is easy, and they are usually abundant in the fall. Rose hips from any variety of rose, wild or cultivated, are edible and can be used.

You’ll need 1-2 cups of foraged rose hips for this recipe.

a hand picking rose hips

Rose Hip Whiskey Smash Cocktail Recipe

This is the perfect foraged cocktail for fall and winter when rose hips are in season! It make a delicious festive drink.

Make the Rose Hip Syrup

The first step in making this wild drink is to make rose hip syrup. To do this you will either need to collect some wild rose hips, or find a source of dried rose hips.

I will be following Emily’s recipe for making rose hip syrup here, which boils the syrup after adding the honey to reduce it down even more.

If you want to preserve all the benefits of the raw honey, you can follow my recipe for rose hip syrup. Both will work in the rose hip cocktail recipe!

bowl of foraged rose hips

I collected about a cup of rose hips. The original recipe in Emily’s book calls for 2 cups, so I just scaled it back by half.

potato masher crushing rose hips in a bowl

Begin making the rose hip syrup by lightly crushing the rose hips using a potato masher or rolling pin.

rose hips covered in water in a pan

Combine the rose hips and water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and mash the rose hips with a potato masher or another mashing tool.

wire mesh strainer with rose hips next to a glass jar of rose hip tea

Strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard the solids. Measure the liquid, you should have about ½ cup.

honey pouring into pan

Return the liquid to the saucepan and add the honey. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Strain through several layers of cheesecloth or coffee filter to catch any little hairs which can irritate the digestive system.

This rose hip syrup, in and of itself, is a nice thing to have on hand as it tastes wonderful and has all of the healing properties of rose hips. You definitely won’t get scurvy with this around!

That said, it makes a great addition to cocktails, like this rose hip whiskey smash.

rose hip syrup in a mason jar

Make the Rose Hip Cocktail

To make the rose hip whiskey smash, simply muddle the orange wedges with the rose hip syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.

Muddle is just a fancy term for smashing it all together. I wonder if that’s why these kind of drink recipes are called smashes? I don’t have fancy cocktail shakers and makers, so I just did it in a glass measuring cup with wooden spoon.

Add the mint leaves and lightly bruise with the muddler. Add the bourbon and ice then shake it well. Strain it into a glass and garnish your drink with a sprig of fresh mint.

rose hip whiskey smash in a martini glass garnished with fresh mint and rose hips

I used a martini glass because that’s the only fancy glass that I have. Isn’t is gorgeous?

This drink was tart and sweet all at once, and so much better than any regular cocktail! Delicious and perfect for the holiday season.

It’s so nice knowing where all of your ingredients come from, especially when they are wildcrafted. That is what I love so much about this book, the recipes are fun to prepare from foraging for the ingredients to imbibing in the the drinks themselves. Totally my kind of deal!

wild drinks and cocktails book by emily han

I highly recommend Wild Drinks and Cocktails by Emily Han, you’ll love it. And you will definitely love this rose hip whiskey smash recipe!


Herbal Infused Drinks & Cocktails

Dress up your drink with these beautiful herbal infusions!

  • Rosemary Champagne Cocktail with Blood Orange
  • Persimmon Champagne Cocktail with Sage
  • Pomegranate Martini with Rosemary
  • Conifer Infused Vodka
  • Infused Winter Gin
  • Reishi Mushroom Infused Wine
  • Raspberry Mint Wine

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5 from 4 votes

Rose Hip Whiskey Smash Cocktail

Make this tasty and festive rose hip whiskey smash for a fall foraged cocktail that is perfect for the holiday season! Recipe reprinted with permission from Wild Drinks and Cocktails by Emily Han.
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 217kcal
Author Colleen @ Grow Forage Cook Ferment

Equipment

  • Potato Masher
  • Small Saucepan
  • Fine Mesh Sieve
  • Coffee Filter
  • Cocktail Shaker
  • Cocktail Glass

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Rose Hip Syrup

  • 1 cup fresh rose hips or 1/2 cup dried rose hips
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup honey or sugar

Whiskey Smash (amounts listed are per drink)

  • 3 orange wedges preferably blood orange
  • 1 ounce rose hip syrup
  • 4 to 6 fresh mint leaves
  • 2 ounces bourbon or whiskey
  • ice cubes
  • fresh mint for garnish

Instructions

Rose Hip Syrup

  • Lightly crush the rose hips using a potato masher or rolling pin.
  • Combine the rose hips and water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and mash the rose hips with a potato masher or another mashing tool.
  • Strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard the solids. Measure the liquid, you should have about 1/2 cup.
  • Return the liquid to the saucepan and add the honey. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Strain through a cloth or coffee filter to catch any little hairs which can irritate the digestive system. 

Rose Hip Whiskey Smash

  • Muddle the orange wedges with the rose hip syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add the mint leaves and lightly bruise with the muddler.
  • Add the bourbon and ice and shake well. Strain into a glass and garnish with the mint sprig.

Notes

  • If you want to preserve all the benefits of the raw honey, you can follow my recipe for rose hip syrup.

Nutrition

Serving: 2ounces | Calories: 217kcal
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Andrea says

    October 25, 2020 at 3:26 pm

    5 stars
    So glad you shared this recipe. I have the book and absolutely love it! Medicinal cocktails – another reason to have a home apothecary :-)

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      October 26, 2020 at 11:02 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Alyssa says

    March 17, 2020 at 11:44 pm

    Such a late comment, but I absolutely LOVE that glass, where did you get it? Any info on it at all?

    And I am so excited to try this recipe!

    Reply
    • V says

      October 25, 2021 at 8:16 am

      I second the request about the glass!

      Reply
      • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

        October 25, 2021 at 9:10 am

        It was a thrift store find!

  3. Pat Bitton says

    August 6, 2019 at 2:46 pm

    We made this syrup (for cocktailing) but it just tasted of honey – no hint of the rosehips. Any ideas?

    Reply
  4. Leticia says

    April 7, 2019 at 9:23 am

    I heared that vitamin C is destroyed with heat. Are you sure that syrup will still contain it?

    Reply
    • Kat says

      February 16, 2020 at 2:59 pm

      I heat the mix just until boiling, stirring constantly. Then cover and steep. The vitamins remain, unless you boil it for a while.

      Reply
  5. Laura says

    October 1, 2018 at 5:57 pm

    This looks great! Do the rosehips have to be dried?

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      October 3, 2018 at 9:41 am

      Hi Laura, no the rose hips do not need to be dried.

      Reply
  6. Zdeňka Dostálová says

    October 3, 2016 at 7:58 am

    Just made the syrup, it’s lovely. When the time for a cocktail comes, it’ll be ready :-)

    Reply
  7. Julia Cartmel Jester says

    July 18, 2016 at 2:04 am

    I love Rose hip jelly. When we lived in sw Colorado i would go down by the river and pick hips. They were huge.There is more vitamin C in a rose hip than in Oranges. Make some jelly its delish !

    Reply
  8. Mary Goodson says

    December 4, 2015 at 1:36 am

    That recipe for the “smash” sounds wonderful, but I’ll use Limon Rum instead of whiskey. I bet it will be fabulous.

    I bet it would also be amazing with CRANBERRIES instead of rosehips. Anyone made “Cranberry Syrup”? I’ve been making delicious Cranberry Cocktails using Ocean Spray 100% Cranberry Juice cocktail that’s sweetened with apple juice instead of HFCS.

    1/2 glass Cranberry Juice
    1 shot of Limon rum
    Top off the glass with Cranberry flavored seltzer.

    Stir well. I keep my drinks ice cold using the plastic “freezer balls” so my drink doesn’t get watered down. You can also make a batch of drinks and freeze them in an ice cube tray to pop into your drinks. Come to think of it…. that’s a fabulous ides. I should do that! LOL

    But I digress…

    No need for much of a garnish, as the beautiful red drink is stunning.

    Reply
  9. Eve says

    November 17, 2015 at 12:53 am

    Ahhhhh nooooo!!! Am I too late?? I just read this post and this is all I am busy with at the moment, I would love to have some more unusual raw and pure suggestions and have a warm spicy winter ahead with all this goodness from Mother Earth!! I hope I am still in time……..

    Reply
  10. Monique D'hooghe says

    November 11, 2015 at 11:22 am

    pretty pretty please, can i win that recipe book? i’ll gladly share with all my friends…

    Reply
    • Colleen @ Grow For Cook Ferm says

      November 12, 2015 at 9:47 am

      The giveaway has a random winner, good luck!!!

      Reply
  11. Colleen E. Bohrer says

    November 10, 2015 at 2:05 pm

    Nice !!! Can’t wait to see the whole book !!!

    Reply
  12. Summer Sherrod says

    November 9, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    Do you have any tips on harvesting rosehips? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Colleen @ Grow For Cook Ferm says

      November 9, 2015 at 7:26 pm

      Yes, I have a whole post on it here: Foraging for Rose Hips

      Reply
  13. Susan@learningandyearning says

    November 9, 2015 at 8:17 am

    I’ve made elderberry liqueur for the past two years, and this year I’m also making hawthorne liqueur. The book sounds great!

    Reply
  14. Maysa Blu says

    November 5, 2015 at 11:28 am

    looks amazing!

    Reply
  15. Emily Han says

    November 5, 2015 at 11:27 am

    Those are some gorgeous rose hips you gathered! And I love that you made the cocktail using the tools you had on hand … improvising is often part of the fun, I think. Thanks for sharing the book, Colleen!

    Reply
  16. Latisha says

    November 5, 2015 at 9:38 am

    How delicious and timely! We love playing with rose hips. Thanks for the great suggestion. And I love that you had to top it off with a lime. That happens to me all the time!

    Reply
  17. Tinke13 says

    November 5, 2015 at 5:48 am

    Love the glass ;>D

    Reply
  18. Fern Vitense says

    November 5, 2015 at 5:34 am

    The Rosehip syrup and Whiskey Smash are going to be great. I can’t wait to pick my rosehips.

    Reply
    • VICKI says

      December 8, 2018 at 3:28 pm

      I make VITAMIN C w/rosehips, but please tell me where to find them in Colorado! I use Natural Grocers dried, but want to forage them. I’m 72/disabled and can walk on a sidewalk (not in show), but not in ditches or on mountains. Any ideas from Colorado readers? I just don’t know if I can do it, but would like to try.

      Thanks for your help.

      Reply

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