Drinks

Greyhound Cocktail

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When the weather gets warm, all I want are fizzy cocktails that have two things: a lot of ice and plenty of club soda. After that, I really don’t care what’s poured into the shaker. It could be gin, vodka or any other liquor for which I might have a craving.

There are several drinks that fit this bill: the Gin Rickey, the Mojito, and the Tom Collins just to name a few.  While all these drinks have club soda and ice, they also have sweet, juicy mixers. It’s those juices that make each one of these drinks stand out. I mean a gin and soda is great, but a gin, soda and lemon or lime juice is so much better.

While I love my cocktails with plenty of citrus juice, I was running low on lemons and limes. Luckily, Melissa’s Produce gave me some Ruby Red Grapefruit recently. I love grapefruit, especially the Ruby Reds. They’re so sweet. They’re great in fruit salads, on fish or all by themselves; and since they’re so delicious, I knew they’d be great with alcohol. As it turns out, I’m not the only one who thinks so.

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Lemons, limes and oranges may be the typical choices for gin cocktails, but there are a couple classics that call for grapefruit: the Salty Dog and the Greyhound. Although the origin of the Greyhound is a little hazy, I know it’s been around since the 30’s and was traditionally made with gin and no club soda. But as the years progressed the gin was replaced with vodka and club soda was occasionally added.

So, if you’re low on lemons and limes, give the Greyhound a try. It’s a nice change of pace and just as refreshing as the Gin Fizz or Gin Rickey.

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Greyhound

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. gin
  • 5-6 oz. fresh grapefruit juice

Directions:

  1. Pour the gin and juice into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir to combine the flavors.
  2. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a wedge of grapefruit and serve.