If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll know my wife and I became dog owners last November, shortly after an election stole our post-wedding joy. The one on the couch is our baby, Edith, and on the floor is her best friend, Murphy:
But while this is my first time at the puppy rodeo, this isn’t my first time at the dog rodeo. I grew up adopting retired racing greyhounds. They’re exceptionally good dogs, retired racing greyhounds, if a little lost at how to dog sometimes. I insisted on our first one after I fell in love at a community fair, but my parents continued adopting long after I was out the of the house, sometimes having three retired racers at a time. They still have one, now living alongside a retired fox hunting hound. I named him Chaucer a while back. He is very old and fat and farty. He’s a good boy.
Because our lives are really busy right now, we are unable to make the ten-hour trek to South Carolina to visit my family and the dogs (though I’m sure my parents’ old puppers are pretty happy not to have Edith pulling at their faces). We probably won’t be able to do it this summer either. That’s why, when I was flipping through the internet for cocktail inspiration, I was taken with the Greyhound, a miraculously simple cocktail consisting of only gin and grapefruit juice. Something ripe for riffing on. Plus it’s Officially Springtime, and some fresh grapefruit juice certainly wouldn’t go amiss.
You will need:
1.5 oz gin
1 oz Saint Germain
2 oz grapefruit juice (I’m squeezing fresh!)
seltzer to top
a shaker, a strainer and some ice
First, squeeze them grapefruits. Remember to cut it lengthwise, like when you juice any citrus, because that’ll get you more juice.
Fill your shaker halfway with ice. Add the gin, Saint Germain and grapefruit juice. A pause, here, to talk about Saint Germain. One of my fave drinks to make for anyone is the Saint Germain gin and tonic. Smashing the Greyhound and that particular gin and tonic together is how I got the idea for this. But notice I’m not using tonic—grapefruit is a really complex flavor, and I use a really botanic gin, so the seltzer will add bubbles without adding a whole other flavor to this sucker. Oh, PS, DON’T ADD THE SELTZER YET. You’re about to shake this thing.
Shake until the shaker is nice and frosty. Strain into a glass. If you don’t like pulp, you can fine strain the drink by using a Hawthorne strainer AND pouring it trough a tea strainer. Then top with seltzer to taste. I was going to garnish with a grapefruit, but I used a giant ice sphere, and the color looked so elegant in this glass that I didn’t want to pester it with more? If you choose to garnish, I’m thinking either a grapefruit twist or a sprig of thyme.
Did I accidentally make a paint color? Is this drink “millennial pink”????
Love gin and am fond of grapefruit so will have to give this a try :)
Just finished up a work thing and been out for cocktails, so I’ll give this Thursday night two thumbs up – A dark & stormy, a hemingway daiquiri and a sloe gin negroni (the winner of the night)
this sounds so delicious and also makes me think of a gatsby-style hot summer night lawn party? gin always makes me think 1920s.
ALI. I DID NOT KNOW CUTTING CITRUS LENGTHWISE MEANS MORE JUICE.
IT DOES AND I DON’T KNOW WHY IT DOES BUT IT DOES.
Am I a party-pooper if I link this attempt to validate this finding? Because I do not wish to poop on any party with such lovely cocktails, but I did appreciate that someone tried to measure this: http://www.thekitchn.com/does-cutting-a-lemon-lengthwise-really-give-you-more-juice-putting-tips-to-the-test-in-the-kitchn-199946
i maintain that 1 teaspoon is nothing to sneeze at. but i do appreciate this science.
Excuse me but WHAT IS LENGTHWISE WHEN THE FRUIT IS A SPHERE. Pls help.
I’m guessing it means cutting from the nubby thing on top to the bump at the bottom? So that when you open it up you see the long sides of two segments rather than a circular cross-section of all the segments. If that makes sense.
I need this today.
Okay that looks delightful and sounds delightful because I am ALL ABOUT GRAPEFRUIT but I am also all about not putting gin in my mouth. Is there a gin that’s not very gin-ey (which is similar to my requests when my friends go to breweries–“which beer is the one that tastes the least like beer? I want that one.”), or is there another liquor that would pair well with grapefruit because I know like 3 things about liquor and one of those things is that gin is gross.
Not an expert, but I think vodka pairs pretty well with any fruit juice and doesn’t have as noticeable of a flavor for those who don’t like their booze boozy-tasting
If you like bourbon a brown derby is a great alternative. Grapefruit juuce, honey syrup, bourbon, orange bitters(optional)
OOOOh I do like bourbon. I’ll have to try this!
i like gin but i LOVE bourbon. thanks for this!
I’ve always had Greyhounds made with vodka – maybe it’s something (else) we do wrong in Texas? – and they’re delicious.
I have only driven through Texas, but I have only had or made Greyhounds with vodka. And when I’ve ordered them (and the bartender knows what it is) it is made with vodka.
But it is a great summer drink, especially for us grapefruit lovers. :-)
I once had grapefruit margarita, with anejo tequila(light yellow not dark in this case), and I liked it. If you are a fan of tequila, could look in to trying it with that.
Yes!! I love greyhounds and elderflower gin & tonics, you’ve combined essentially my favorite flavor profile into a very simple drink. Can’t wait to make some of these.
The drink looks amazing and your babies are the cutest!
Cute puppers and a delicious-sounding cocktail? Can it get any better?
This looks sooo delicious and I’m fully planning to try it out tonight!
Also, where in South Carolina is your fam from?
i do a cheat’s version of this with a grapefruit flavoured cordial and my sodastream
This looks so good! Though a friendly reminder that some forms of hormonal contraception can interact with grapefruit – sigh – so worth checking just in case. Any thoughts on a decent grapefruit substitute?
If you like salt-rimmed cocktails, the salty dog is not far off from this. It’s kind of like the margarita of the gin world. I wonder if there’s a connection between greyhound and salty dog?
this and the links to more gin drinks just added to my summer :D