Grapefruit Juice in Cocktails

[JAZ]

My produce market has had beautiful grapefruit really cheap, so I've been taking advantage of the bounty.

In addition to using the juice in the usual drinks, and making up some new ones (like the Reverse Pomeranian), I've been experimenting with it in drinks that don't usually call for it. I started out with a splash of it in an Aviation, something that a bartender friend of mine does, which brings the drink close to the Hemingway Daiquiri. I've added a dash of grapefruit to margaritas, and to the Mischief, for example, with good results. In small amounts (a teaspoon or so) it seems to make other citrus juice (especially orange juice) more complex tasting, without really being obvious.

Now that I think about it, it occurs to me that I often use grapefruit juice in my non-alcoholic cocktails, because of that complexity it provides.

I wonder if it's because grapefruit is one of the few typical cocktail ingredients that's high in glutatmates and thus provides a hint of umami. Or it might just be that it's got a background of bitterness, which is something that I tend to like in my cocktails.

Anyone else do anything interesting with grapefruit juice?

[cdh]

Well... this is not exactly about grapefruit juice, but I've been drinking quite a few of Paul Harrington's Jasmines lately, and despite the fact they contain no grapefruit juice, they are a dead ringer for its flavor.

Do you squeeze your own juice, have a store that makes its own good squeezed juices, or are you at the mercy of Tropicana and Ocean Spray in your choice of grapefruit juice sources? Big difference between a splash of Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice Flavored Drink, and a squeeze of the real thing. Both probably have their places in mixology... but I'm quite content to shake up Jasmines and drink my ersatz GFJ flavored cocktails.

Edited June 14, 2004 by cdh (log)

[JAZ]

Well... this is not exactly about grapefruit juice, but I've been drinking quite a few of Paul Harrington's Jasmines lately, and despite the fact they contain no grapefruit juice, they are a dead ringer for its flavor.

Do you squeeze your own juice, have a store that makes its own good squeezed juices, or are you at the mercy of Tropicana and Ocean Spray in your choice of grapefruit juice sources? Big difference between a splash of Ocean Spray Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice Flavored Drink, and a squeeze of the real thing. Both probably have their places in mixology... but I'm quite content to shake up Jasmines and drink my ersatz GFJ flavored cocktails.

It is amazing how much a Jasmine tastes like grapefruit juice.

I think maybe the reason I'm so taken with the stuff is that for the first time (in cocktails) I've been using fresh squeezed juice. I ordinarily use Odwalla's, which, I believe, is flash pasteurized. And it's fine, flavor-wise, but I think the fresh juice is adding something that just isn't there, even in the Odwalla.

Tropicana's refrigerated, not-from-concentrate stuff is okay to drink, but I've never used it in cocktails. And I can't stand anything farther than that from fresh

[Jason Perlow]

I've made a variation on the Flaming Orange Gully but with a mixture of grapefruit and blood orange juice instead of straight regular orange juice.

[Ed Hamilton]

Occasionally I mix grapefruit juice with overproof rum. The acidity of the grapefruit seems to mask almost any strong spirit, but the results can be dangerous.

[ludja]

I just came across this thread searching for something else, but grapefruit season is around the corner...

I've had Nevada Cocktails at Absinthe (in SF) a few times and really liked it. I haven't made it at home yet though so I'm not sure it the proportions are good in this recipe ... It's an interesting mysterious drink--difficult to divine all the flavors as you sip it; they come together to create something very nice.

Nevada Cocktail

- 2 oz Light Rum

- 2 oz Grapefruit Juice

- 1 oz Lime Juice

- 2 tsp Superfine Sugar

- 1 dash Bitters

- Glassware: Cocktail Glass

Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

[jparrott]

The "Mad Dog" at d.b.a. New Orleans, so named for one of the early-evening regulars: Vodka, grapefruit juice....and a splash of Hoegaarden. It works.

[Luckylies]

called the "emma" in a few nyc bars...after...me. (it may already exist as something else)

grapefruit

a little pineapple

some fresh lime. lime zest.

ice shake-a shake-a shake!

careful though...

[slkinsey]

called the "emma" in a few nyc bars...after...me. (it may already exist as something else)

grapefruit

a little pineapple

some fresh lime. lime zest.

ice shake-a shake-a shake!

careful though...

There is no booze in this?

[Mrs. P]

The tastebuds in my head are telling me that a generous splash of grapefruit would go well in a gin & tonic, instead of lime. Sound crazy?

[thebartrainer]

If using Tanqueray 10 a twist of Grapefruit zest would enhance that present in the botanicals of the gin

Cheers

Ian

[JAZ]

The tastebuds in my head are telling me that a generous splash of grapefruit would go well in a gin & tonic, instead of lime.  Sound crazy?

←

Actually, gin with grapefruit juice and a splash of tonic (or equal parts grapefruit and tonic) is a wonderful summertime drink. Add a dash of bitters, and you have Gary Regan's Tart Gin Cooler, which for me is neck and neck with the Americano or the Pimm's Cup for my favorite summer afternoon drink.

[JAZ]

I just came across this thread searching for something else, but grapefruit season is around the corner...

I've had Nevada Cocktails at Absinthe (in SF) a few times and really liked it.  I haven't made it at home yet though so I'm not sure it the proportions are good in this recipe ...  It's an interesting mysterious drink--difficult to divine all the flavors as you sip it; they come together to create something very nice.

Nevada Cocktail

- 2 oz Light Rum

- 2 oz Grapefruit Juice

- 1 oz Lime Juice

- 2 tsp Superfine Sugar

- 1 dash Bitters

- Glassware: Cocktail Glass

Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

←

I had one of these for the first time tonight, and I agree about the elusive quality of this cocktail. Much more than the sum of the parts. I had mine at the Starlight Room -- but the bartender there used to work at Absinthe, so my guess is that it's much the same as the one you remember.

The proportions above sound about right, although I wasn't paying that much attention to the mixing. And mine was made with simple syrup instead of sugar. It's definitely worth some experimentation.

[Heikki]

ludja, I mixed the Nevada Cocktail for myself and the wife today, and we liked it very much. It is very tasty. The recipe seems to also be in the Savoy cocktail book (Savoy goes Tiki?) and the Cocktaildb. Cocktaildb uses only half of the amount of grapfruit juice, but it will probably depend on the type of grapefruit how much is needed. The yellow grapfruit we had was fairly sweet so I only used 1 cl of 2:1 simple sugar for sweetener. Due to our glassware size I used this recipe:

4 cl white rum

4 cl grapfruit juice

2 cl lime juice

1 cl simple sugar

3 dashes (shakes) of Angostura

The amount of Angostura is more than the other recipes specify, but it seems to go very well with this drink. Maybe it is the amount of fruit juice that absorbs the bitters, but I think less would not have been enough. Usually this much Angostura would be quite a lot for a single drink. The drink has many Daiquiri qualities, but grapefruit and bitters give it a nice character of its own.

Heikki Vatiainen

[ludja]

ludja, I mixed the Nevada Cocktail for myself and the wife today, and we liked it very much. It is very tasty. The recipe seems to also be in the Savoy cocktail book (Savoy goes Tiki?) and the Cocktaildb.  Cocktaildb uses only half of the amount of grapfruit juice, but it will probably depend on the type of grapefruit how much is needed. The yellow grapfruit we had was fairly sweet so I only used 1 cl of 2:1 simple sugar for sweetener. Due to our glassware size I used this recipe:

4 cl white rum

4 cl grapfruit juice

2 cl lime juice

1 cl simple sugar

3 dashes (shakes) of Angostura

The amount of Angostura is more than the other recipes specify, but it seems to go very well with this drink. Maybe it is the amount of fruit juice that absorbs the bitters, but I think less would not have been enough.  Usually this much Angostura would be quite a lot for a single drink.  The drink has many Daiquiri qualities, but grapefruit and bitters give it a nice character of its own.

Heikki Vatiainen

←

Thanks for sharing your careful experimentation with us Heikki. Grapefruit is variable here as well--it's sometimes difficult to find yellow grapefruits; lots of Texas red grapefruits which are sweeter...

[Luckylies]

called the "emma" in a few nyc bars...after...me. (it may already exist as something else)

grapefruit

a little pineapple

some fresh lime. lime zest.

ice shake-a shake-a shake!

careful though...

There is no booze in this?

←

oops...vodka+ the other stuff...

[Chris Amirault]

I've been fiddling around with the Nevada using cocktaildb's receipt:

1 1/2 rum

3/4 grapefruit

3/4 lime

1 1/2 tsp sugar

dash bitters

I've decided that pink grapefruit roundly sucks in most drinks, especially this one, so white grapefruit only here. That means the tartness of the drink increases, so in response I've increased the base a bit with dark rum, a heavy dose of Angostura, and demerara syrup. To distinguish it from its source, I've been calling the result the Carson City Cocktail:

1 light rum (Flor de Caña)

1/2 dark rum (Flor de Caña)

3/4 white grapefruit

3/4 lime

1/2 1:1 demerara syrup (adjust after tasting if needed)

1 hefty dash Angostura bitters

[Chris Amirault]

With a mind toward making a Colonial Cocktail to post over at eje's Savoy masterwork, I bought two white grapefruits yesterday at Whole Foods. Juiced them just now, and the difference was stunning: one actually tasted tart, complex, and bright, with a strong aroma, the way a grapefruit should, and the other tasted like slightly off simple syrup and had a smell to match.

With a good grapefruit, the Colonial Cocktail is a snappy drink with more complexity than you'd think. Quality grapefruit juice even has some bitter notes at the end. But, boy oh boy, when they're bad they're horrid.

[LittleChef22]

Mmm.... grapefruit juice in cocktails sounds good.. esp. b/c I do not like sweet drinks....

[weinoo]

With a mind toward making a Colonial Cocktail to post over at eje's Savoy masterwork, I bought two white grapefruits yesterday at Whole Foods. Juiced them just now, and the difference was stunning: one actually tasted tart, complex, and bright, with a strong aroma, the way a grapefruit should, and the other tasted like slightly off simple syrup and had a smell to match.

With a good grapefruit, the Colonial Cocktail is a snappy drink with more complexity than you'd think. Quality grapefruit juice even has some bitter notes at the end. But, boy oh boy, when they're bad they're horrid.

←

Sure sounds like one of your grapefruits had started to ferment - not too hard to understand, considering they were probably picked months ago!

As far as grapefruit juice in cocktails, I really like the Siesta, which is from the Flatiron Lounge...slkinsey posted it a while back!

Siesta from Flatiron Lounge:

1.5 oz : Herradura silver

.75 oz : simple syrup (1:1)

.75 oz : fresh lime juice

.50 oz : fresh grapefruit juice

.25 oz : Campari

Shake and strain.

[Chris Amirault]

That Siesta looks great.

Sure sounds like one of your grapefruits had started to ferment - not too hard to understand, considering they were probably picked months ago!

←

Nope. It was bred to be sweet and boring.

[Nathan]

one interesting take on grapefruit juice is to use a more-bitter blood orange juice...(despite being bottled, the "Italian Volcano Orange Juice" available at both Whole Foods and Trader Joes is ideal for this purpose)....you can play with it in both cocktails calling for grapefruit juice and cocktails calling for OJ...as it lends special effect either way.

[johnder]

Don't forget the hemmingway daiquiri

2 oz barbancourt rum

.75 oz lime

.5 oz grapefruit

.5 oz maraschino

[slkinsey]

Not to mention the Blinker:

2 oz : rye whiskey

1 oz : fresh grapefruit juioce

1 tsp : raspberry syrup

Two important notes: First, I find that Old Overholt is by far the best rye for this cocktail. Second, depending on the tartness of your grapefruit and the sweetness of your raspberry syrup, you will need to adjust for balance.

[phlip]

I like to make my palomas with fresh GF juice instead of GF soda. I just add a bit of simple and club soda instead. I would also like to take this moment to sing aloud the praises of the grapefruit twist. Try one in a gin martini or a negroni. Often one needn't even drop it in one is so aromatic. I also love infusing booze with grapefruit zest. Especially aperol and campari. Also can use grapefruit juice in punch.