🌷 Sharbat-e-Golab

Rose water, lemon juice & chilled water — Persia's royal cooler

5 min
Serves 1
Floral & Light
Short glass over ice
0% ABV
  • 3 tbsp rose water (Persian brands preferred)
  • Juice of ½ lemon or lime
  • 2 tbsp sugar or simple syrup
  • 200ml cold water
  • Ice
  • A few dried rose petals to garnish

  1. 1
    MixCombine rose water, lemon juice, and sugar in a glass. Stir until sugar dissolves.
  2. 2
    Add waterAdd cold water and stir.
  3. 3
    TasteTaste — it should be delicately floral and lightly sweet. Adjust rose water and sugar.
  4. 4
    ServePour over ice. Scatter rose petals on top.

About This Drink

Persian sharbat is the ancestor of every sweetened drink in the world — the word 'sherbet', 'sorbet', and even 'syrup' all derive from the Arabic-Persian root sharba. At its simplest, Sharbat-e-Golab is three ingredients: rose water, sugar, water. The Persians understood that the best drinks don't need many ingredients.

Persian rose water is noticeably more fragrant than other brands — look for Golab brands from an Iranian grocery. Start with less rose water — it's easy to add more, impossible to undo. For a more complex version, add ½ tsp basil seeds (tukhm-e-sharbati) which bloom into a tapioca-like gel.

Source
Traditional Persian drink; featured at Persian restaurants including Colbeh (New York) and Hafez (London)
Origin
Iran / Persia
Difficulty
Easy · 5 min