My tastes tend to be very conflicted. I have and always will have a sweet tooth and an affinity for delicious baked goods. Yet when it comes to cocktails, wine or anything in the after lunch camp (unless we are having a Breakfast Rum), I lean into the bitter, the more bitter and less sweet the better – generally. It is a blusterous turning from autumn to winter day here and while I’d normally crave a lovely glass of Pinot noir cuddled up in my finest comfort clothes at the end of a work week in this type of weather, I decided a cocktail precursor was the better call.
This did require me to leave the comfort of my warm home out into the windy rainy turning to dusk evening to brave the dreaded supermarket parking lot at witching hour. What was I thinking? I was thinking fresh grapefruit, and of course, my local didn’t have any or even bottled grapefruit juice which at that point I would have settled for – regretfully. So not one combat exercise in the parking lot, but two. When I’m determined, I’m determined whether it’s sensible or not.
And was it worth it? It was, it really was, especially searching for fresh grapefruit and not settling for bottled juice. I also got to see my son’s newly acquired cocktail shaking skills from his recent job experience in a bar. I owe the delicate foam on this set of cocktails to him.
I set up to make a rosemary honey syrup to level this one up and then chickened out with the rosemary and decided to throw it in as an after thought. If you love rosemary, go for it and infuse in the syrup. If you are on the fence like I was, placing a fresh twig of rosemary on the finished cocktail is a way to test it out without potentially ruining the drink if it doesn’t work for you. And if you don’t have access to fresh rosemary – skip it. We have a rosemary bush in the backyard but I wouldn’t go out and buy it for this unless you have another use for it or have it growing like crazy in the backyard like I do.
Worth Making?
- Yes — if you like gin but want something a little softer than a classic gin sour or a bit of a level up from a gin and tonic
- Yes – if you enjoy slightly bitter, the honey softens it but in my typical style this is not on the sweet side
- Yes — if you’re looking for a winter cocktail that doesn’t rely on cinnamon and cloves or heavy red wine
- Skip it — if you don’t enjoy citrus or are not a gin drinker
- Skip it — if you only have bottled juice, the fresh grapefruit elevates the flavour
- Skip it – if you can’t be bothered making a syrup or just need that cocktail quick in hand and don’t have the patience for it
Grapefruit Gin Sour
Equipment
- 1 cocktail shaker
Ingredients
- 60 ml gin There are so many options to choose from that will work for this, I used a local botanical gin
- 30 ml Fresh grapefruit juice
- 30 ml honey syrup
- 15 ml fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg white
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt
Honey Syrup
- 50 grams honey
- 50 grams hot water
- 1 sprig of rosemary Leave out if prefer as garnish only
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker.
- If using egg white, dry shake first.
- Add ice and shake again until well chilled.
- Strain into a cocktail glass with large cocktail ice block or into a coupe glass if prefer it without the ice.
- Garnish with a small rosemary sprig or a strip of grapefruit peel.
Honey Syrup
- Pour hot water over honey in small bowl and stir until dissolved. Let cool before using in cocktail.
Make it your own way
- Use blood orange in place of grapefruit for a sweeter version
- Add a dash of bitters for extra complexity and extra bitterness
- Top with soda water for a longer and less strong drink (skip the egg white in this version)
- Swap rosemary for thyme
- Increase the honey syrup to 35ml if using particularly tart grapefruit
- Use a citrus infused gin instead of regular gin
