Grapefruit Cocktails

The Brown Derby

Named after the famous Hollywood restaurant, but the first record in print is in The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock, the famous bartender at London's Savoy Hotel.

• 1 oz. bourbon
• 1 - 1½ oz. grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
• 1½ tsp. honey mixed with 1½ tsp. warm water
• Garnish: grapefruit twist

The standard recipe calls for 1 ounce of grapefruit juice; I use 1½ ounces to make a less sweet drink.
Mix honey and warm water together to mix thoroughly. Pour the bourbon, grapefruit juice, and honey mixture in a shaker with ice; shake to chill. Strain into a champagne coupe or cocktail glass.

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High Noon

• 1½ oz. Tequila
• ½ oz. Campari
• ½ oz. Triple Sec
• 1 oz. red grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
• Garnish: grapefruit twist

Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

High Noon

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Banker's Lunch

• 1½ ozs. vodka
• ½ oz. dry vermouth
• ½ oz. orange liqueur like Triple Sec or Cointreau
• 1½ ozs. grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
• Garnish: grapefruit twist

Add all the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

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The Traipser

• 1 oz. Tequila
• ½ oz. Campari
• ½ oz. Grapefruit liqueur like Giffard Rose
• 1 oz. red grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
• Garnish: grapefruit twist

This is my version of the High Noon above. I believe I've improved on it by reducing the amount of tequila to make a more balanced drink. I also replacing the Triple Sec with grapefruit liqueur to intensify the grapefruit flavour.
Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.
There are a few makers of grapefruit liqueurs but Giffard is the best.

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Source: www.liquor.com

Garibaldi

This is named after the incomparable Italian general, Giuseppe Garibaldi. Like the Negroni, this is another, though simpler, cocktail made from Campari, this time with only orange juice added. The typical proportion is 1½ ounces of Campari to 4 ounces of orange juice, then topped with an orange slice.

 

Willie Smith’s Dark River Stormy Seas

Willie Smith’s of Tasmania makes a wide range of ciders, both pure apple as well as flavored. I bought this thinking it was a cider, but it is a cocktail which is a combination of distilled apple spirits and ginger beer, with added lime zest. 6.0% ABV. My rating - not good - 4/10.

Taipei Lemon

I don’t know the proper name of this drink but it tasted great. I tried it in a tiny bar in Taipei during a nightime food tour in the Guangzhou Street Night Market (near the Longshan Temple). The bartender told me the ingredients but not the proportions: gin, Cointreau, lemon juice and sugar syrup. Tart and very lemony. I’ll try to duplicate at home. On a web search I discovered that it is probably a variation on the White Lady cocktail which contains gin, Cointreau and lemon juice..

Best Negroni

I had the best Negroni ever at the Hotel Plaza San Francisco in Santiago, Chile. It is made with Campari, their own "home made" vermouth and El Viaje, a Chilean gin.

Paloma

I first tried this at a bar in Luxembourg. I believe they used the standard recipe (as below) that uses grapefruit soda. I don't know what brand, but cosidering the quality of the bar and the taste of the drink it may have been Fever Tree. I would try fresh grapefruit juice or a mixture with the grapefruit soda. I would also look at adding a little grapefruit liqueur such as Giffard, which is one of the best.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces tequila
• 1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 4 ounces Grapefruit soda, chilled
• Pinch of salt
• Garnish: lime wheel or wedge

Steps

1. Add the tequila, lime juice, and pinch of salt to the glass, and fill with ice.
2. Top with grapefruit soda, and stir briefly and gently to combine.
3. Garnish with a lime wheel or wedge.

I would use a high quality brand of grapefruit soda like Fever Tree. Other brands Jarritos from Mexico and Wink which is a popular domestic brand. Do not use Ting, the Jamaican grapefruit soda.

I made my own version at home that is a bit different but very nice:

Ingredients

• 2 ounces tequila
• 1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 3 ounces grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 ounce grapefruit liqueur like Giffard
• Pinch of salt
• Garnish: lime wheel or wedge

Giffard

Drink Adornments

Various garnishes and adornments can be added to drinks to add that something extra. One type of adornment is the tuile made from fruit, honey or sugar. See my tuile recipes for ideas.