Rose Kennedy

This refreshing and pretty sip came about when Heather Mader of Black Radish Personal Chef in Portland, Ore. inherited a bag of dried hibiscus flowers.

"I had no idea what to do with them!" she says. "I initially just made the syrup and found that it's good on almost anything . . . ice cream, pancakes! Experimenting, I tried using it in a Cosmo in place of the normal sugar syrup and it was lovely. You could also make this drink with a shot of vodka if you like."

To make the hibiscus syrup:

Ingredients:

5 cups sugar
4 cups water
4 cups hibiscus flowers

Instructions:

1. Heat sugar and water in a large saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Add flowers and bring to the boil.
3. Lower heat and simmer gently until the volume of liquid is reduced by a third.
4. Remove from heat and strain. Chill until cold before proceeding.

To make the Hibiscus Cosmo:

Ingredients:

1/4 fresh cut lime
2 parts Hibiscus Syrup
2 parts fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 parts cranberry juice
1 part fresh lime juice
ice
shaker
chilled martini glass
frozen cranberries for garnish

Instructions:

1. Fill shaker with ice and muddle it with the fresh lime.
2. Vigorously shake syrup, orange juice, cranberry juice and lime together until ice cold.
3. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Drop one or two frozen cranberries in for garnish and service, or float a hibiscus petal on top.

Next: South-of-the-Border Watermelon Iced Green Tea

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