Cocktails

This Grapefruit Rosemary Gimlet is so delicious. Bright, fresh grapefruit juice and herbaceous rosemary simple syrup and gin make for one seriously refreshing cocktail.

Gin is such a versatile spirit

Gin is so good during nearly every season! I like it during the Winter because I think that some varieties of gin taste like Christmas in a glass. However, some gins are also really herbaceous, making them perfect for Spring and Summery drinks! 

The gin that I used for this cocktail has lots of coriander, caraway, and rosemary flavors, in addition to juniper (which is probably the flavor that most people associate with gin). Given this flavor profile, adding some rosemary simple syrup seemed like a no brainer. Fresh grapefruit juice is the perfect complement. And thus, the Grapefruit Rosemary Gimlet was born.

Want to try another gimlet? Or maybe another gin drink?

These Basil Vodka Gimlets are also super refreshing. If it’s more gin that you’re after, try a Holiday Gin Moscow Mule (it’s not just for the holidays, trust me!) or Cranberry Gin and Tonic.

5 from 5 votes

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Grapefruit Rosemary Gimlet

Prep Time

5 mins

 

Course: Beverage, Cocktail

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 cocktail

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

For the rosemary simple syrup (makes more than needed)

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary

For the gimlet

• 2 oz grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
• 1.75 oz gin
• 3/4 oz rosemary simple syrup
• fresh grapefruit and rosemary, for garnish

Instructions

To make the rosemary simple syrup

1. In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, combine the water and granulated sugar. Stir to combine.

2. Stirring occasionally, heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved entirely. Once it has dissolved, remove it from the heat.

3. Add the rosemary to the simple syrup. Allow it to cool completely. Remove the rosemary and stash the simple syrup in the fridge.

To make the gimlet

1. In a cocktail shaker over ice, add the fresh grapefruit juice, gin, and rosemary simple syrup. Shake until very cold and strain into a rocks glass over ice.

2. Garnish with a quarter moon of fresh grapefruit and a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Really into grapefruit? Want to see more grapefruit-heavy recipes?

There’s the always refreshing Grapefruit Crush and Salty Dog cocktails. And don’t forget about the v healthy and tasty Broiled Grapefruit as a breakfast/brunch option!

These Grilled Mezcal Margaritas are equal parts sweet, tart, and smoky. Honey syrup lends a pleasant sweetness, the grilled lemon juice is tart and complex, and the mezcal adds a boozy smokiness.

These margaritas are easy to make & require a handful of ingredients!

Our good friends gave us the book The One Bottle Cocktail: More than 80 Recipes with Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit as a Christmas gift. Let it be known that I am by no means averse to mixing up a somewhat complicated drink. However, it can be a little annoying when all you want is a quick cocktail and don’t want to have to drag out every bottle in your bar. This cookbook is great for that reason: you only need a single bottle of booze for every recipe.

Have you ever grilled fruit for a margarita?

One recipe that caught my eye when first flipping through the book was Grilled Margaritas. I love margaritas. You know that if you’ve spent some time on this blog. First, there were Apple Cider Margaritas (great for Fall!), then Pomegranate Margaritas, and most recently, I showed you Cara Cara Orange Margaritas. Anyway, I thought that a grilled marg could be a fun twist on this already tasty drink.

Mezcal can be an interesting substitute for tequila.

On top of that, I recently picked up a bottle of mezcal that I was eager to play with. If you aren’t familiar with it, mezcal is sort of similar to tequila in that they are both distilled from agave. However, mezcal is much smokier than tequila. I’ve seen the following comparison used to help highlight the difference: mezcal is to tequila as scotch it is to whiskey. Does that make sense?

Given its similarities to tequila, along with the already smoky grilled fruit, mezcal was a logical choice for this margarita. These mezcal margaritas are modified from a recipe found in the cookbook The One Bottle Cocktail.

5 from 4 votes

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Grilled Mezcal Margaritas

Prep Time

15 mins

Total Time

15 mins

 

Course: Cocktail

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings: 2 cocktails

Ingredients

For the honey syrup (makes more than needed)

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup hot water

For the grilled lemon juice and lemon wheels

• 2 lemons, halved
• 2 lemon wheels

For the margaritas

• sugar or kosher salt, for rimming the glasses
• 2.5 oz grilled lemon juice
• 4 oz mezcal
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1.5 oz honey syrup
• 2 sprigs rosemary, for garnish

Instructions

To make the honey syrup

1. Combine the honey and hot water. Whisk to combine.

To make the grilled lemon juice and lemon wheels

1. Place the lemon halves, cut side down, on either a grill or a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lemon wheels. Cook until the flesh of the lemons is browned. Set aside to cool.

2. Once cooled, juice the grilled lemon halves.

To make the margaritas

1. Rim two glasses with sugar or kosher salt, depending upon your preference. Add ice to the glasses. Set aside.

2. Add the grilled lemon juice, mezcal, lime juice, and honey syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until very cold. Strain into the prepared glasses. 

3. Add a grilled lemon wheel to each glass. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Recipe Notes

Notes: Meyer lemons would be great in this cocktail, too. 

Looking for more margarita recipes?

Of course you are. They’re delicious. Check out my Cara Cara Orange Margaritas, Pomegranate Margaritas, and Apple Cider Margaritas for more ideas!

And while they’re not margaritas… these Mexican Moscow Mules are made with tequila. And they’re pretty dang good, if I do say so myself.

In my humble opinion, when it comes to cocktails, it doesn’t get much better than an Old Fashioned.

This is a drink of which Ron Swanson would approve. After all, he did utter these wise words:

It’s a classic cocktail that’s deceptive in its complexity. I say “deceptive” because it really only involves a handful of ingredients, many of which you may have in your home bar already. It doesn’t even involve shaking or much stirring!

When it comes to garnishes, you’ll definitely want to use an orange peel (or wedge) for that fresh orange flavor and aroma. And though a regular old maraschino cherry from a jar is fine (or no cherry at all, depending on your tastes) you can definitely kick up the fanciness a notch by garnishing your Old Fashioned with a homemade Luxardo Cherry. They couldn’t be easier to make and really add something to this drink.

And, yes. That is a bottle of rye in the picture. I had just finished off the last of my bourbon when making the pictured cocktail and I wanted to include a relatively full bottle of brown liquor in the photo. While we’re on the subject, it is worth noting that you can change things up and make an Old Fashioned with rye, too, if you’re so inclined.

5 from 7 votes

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Old Fashioned Cocktail

Prep Time

5 mins

 

Course: Beverage, Cocktail

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 cocktail

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

• 1 sugar cube
• 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters, see notes
• small splash water
• ice
• 2 oz bourbon
• 1 orange peel or wedge, for garnish
• 1 Maraschino or Luxardo cherry, for garnish (see notes)

Instructions

1. Add the sugar cube to the bottom of a rocks glass. Douse with bitters and a a small splash of water. Use a bar spoon to stir until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Add ice to the glass.

3. Pour bourbon over ice and stir.

4. Add orange peel and cherry for garnish.

Recipe Notes

Notes:

• Angostura bitters are preferred, but orange-flavored bitters would work well, too.
• The recipe for Homemade Luxardo Cherries can be found here!

I only ask that you imbibe with some amount of caution, as Old Fashioned cocktails are basically all booze.

In need of more bourbon-based cocktails? Girl, I’ve got you. Check out my Bourbon Moscow Mules, Blood Orange Bourbon Sours, Mint Juleps, and Bourbon Pumpkin Shrub Cocktails (Fall is around the corner, after all!).