In need of a Very Refreshing Cocktail?

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). It’s a locally-made gin, too, which I happen to really like. You can buy a bottle here!

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. OH! And don’t forget about these Limoncello Gin Collins-es.

What about grapefruit? Want to check out some other 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!

Looking to get your hands on some gin, but never want to leave your house?

Yeah, me too. Putting on real pants is the worst.

Fortunately, you can order alcohol (and mixers and whatnot) through Drizly and have it delivered right to your house. Or a friends’ house. Or wherever.

Grapefruit Rosemary Gimlet

Yield: 1 cocktail

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

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

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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.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

What equipment should I have on hand to make this cocktail?

• A cocktail jigger, for measuring the gin
• A citrus juicer, so that you can juice fresh grapefruits
• Rocks glasses

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This Spiced Cherry Spritz is a surprisingly complex little cocktail given that it’s made with only 3 ingredients. Okay, four, if you include the maraschino cherry.

The Cheerwine and Lambrusco make it a little sweet, while the Fernet Branca lends some bitterness and keeps it interesting.

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been sharing a lot of cocktails lately. I’m not sorry about it.

It’s just a pretty good indication of where my head (and heart) has been lately. Between the stress of the holidays and associated travel, a grant deadline, and other life stress, booze just seemed like the right choice.

Let’s break these ingredients down a bit:

Fernet Branca is a variety of amaro (means “bitter” in Italian), which are Italian herbal liqueurs. If you can’t get your hands on Fernet Branca, you can substitute a variety of other amari.

Lambrusco is an Italian red wine. You may be familiar with the cheap, sweet, sorta fizzy Lambrusco. That is one option, but rest assured that there are plenty of other options, as well.

As for the cherry soda, I went with Cheerwine. We’ve talked about Cheerwine before (check out these ice cream floats!). It’s a really sweet black cherry-flavored soda made by a company that’s headquartered in North Carolina.

Now, onto the recipe: The recipe for this cocktail is modified slightly from Bon Appétit.

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Spiced Cherry Spritz

Prep Time

2 mins

 

Course: Beverage, Cocktail

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Fernet Branca, or other amaro
• 3 oz Lambrusco
• Cheerwine or other cherry soda, for serving
• 1 maraschino cherry, for garnish

Instructions

1. Pour Fernet Branca and Lambrusco into a rocks glass over ice.

2. Top with Cheerwine. Stir to combine.

3. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

In case you’ve missed them, check out the cocktails I’ve shared recently:Cranberry Gin and Tonic, Cranberry Rosemary French 75, and Holiday Gin Moscow Mule.

The Maple Bourbon Moscow Mule is your new go-to drink for the Fall!

Real maple syrup, bourbon, and apple cider come together to make a 10/10 Fall cocktail: the Maple Bourbon Moscow Mule.

We can all agree that bourbon is great, right?

I think that bourbon is wonderful year round. Classic Old Fashioneds, anyone?

But it’s especially good once the weather starts to cool down a bit. Bourbon is smooth and warming, and really complements classic Fall ingredients like apple cider and maple.

Fortunately for me (and you!), I was recently gifted a bottle of smoked maple bourbon. Its sweet maple flavor inspired these Maple Bourbon Moscow Mules.

How do these Mules come together?

It’s pretty simple, tbh.

Fill your copper mug with ice (I like crushed). Pour your smoked maple bourbon, real maple syrup, apple cider, ginger beer, and lime juice over the ice. Stir gently.

Now drink!

Looking for more Moscow Mule recipes?

I gotchu. <clears throat> For starters, we’ve got the Bourbon Moscow Mule and the Old Kentucky Mule. Both are made with bourbon. *kisses fingers*

The Caramel Apple Moscow Mule is super for Fall, too! Apple cider and caramel vodka make this Mule taste just like a caramel apple in liquid (and boozy) form.

I’ve also created the Pomegranate Champagne Moscow Mule, which is fun and switches things up by using champagne in addition to ginger beer. And let’s not forget about the Mexican Moscow Mule! It’s the most popular recipe on my blog (and for good reason).

Looking for others? Click here to see ALL of the Mules on A Nerd Cooks.

You can bake with Maple Bourbon, too!

Please do yourselves a favor and check out these amazing Maple Bourbon Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies. They’re seriously some of my favorite cookies that I’ve ever made.

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Maple Bourbon Moscow Mule

Prep Time

2 mins

 

Course: Beverage, Cocktail

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 cocktail

Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz smoked maple bourbon, see notes
• .75 oz real maple syrup
• 3 oz apple cider
• 3 oz ginger beer
• 1/2 lime, juiced

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a copper mug over ice.

Recipe Notes

Notes: I used Knob Creek Smoked Maple Bourbon Whiskey. You can use another (non-maple) bourbon if that's all you have on hand. The maple flavor just won't be quite as pronounced.

What gear should I have on hand to make these drinks?

• Copper Moscow Mule mugs, of course!
• A cocktail jigger, for measuring your hooch
• A bar spoon, for gentle mixing
• A citrus squeezer, for juicing your limes

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Have you ever had Luxardo Cherries? 

I bet you have had Luxardo cherries if you’ve ever ordered a cocktail and it had a really delicious cherry in it as garnish. Either that or maybe it was a brandied cherry. Both are good.

So what makes these cherries so special?

I think many of us tend to think about the neon pink/red Maraschino cherries that you buy in the grocery store. These cherries are nothing like those.

So what makes them so different? First of all, they’re delicious.

To achieve such a high level of deliciousness, Luxardo cocktail cherries take a bit of a warm bath in, and get their distinctive and delicious flavor from, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur (uyou can also buy it online HERE). Plus some sugar and spices, of course.

Speaking of cherries, what kind of cherries should you use?

I used regular old dark red sweet cherries that you’ll find at just about any grocery store. You can use sour cherries if you want, too! You do you.

If you do use sour cherries, would you let me know how they turn out? I’ve seen recipes that use them, so I’m sure it’s 100% fine. I’ve just never tried it with them!

What’s Luxardo Maraschino all about?

This liqueur is distilled from ripe marasca cherries (a kind of sour cherry), their crushed pits, branches and leaves, honey, and various other secret ingredients. 

While it does have a cherry flavor, you’ll also notice floral, piney, and nutty flavors, too. It’s really interesting!

What should you do with these Luxardo cherries?

Personally, I’d recommend plopping them into a strong cocktail. As a bourbon lover, I happen to think that they are particularly good in an Old Fashioned.

Don’t tell anyone, but I may also be known for eating them out of the jar. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Worried about having leftover Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur?

Worry no longer! If you have leftovers, please consider making my Cheerwine Sangria. You will not regret it.

Or… And just hear me out here… Just make more Luxardo Cherries! They’re delicious and great for gift giving.

Where did this recipe come from?

This recipe was adapted every so slightly from the one found at Love & Victory.

Homemade Luxardo Cherries

Yield: 1 lb cherries

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

These Homemade Luxardo Cherries are delicious in a cocktail.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 1 lb cherries, pitted and stemmed

Instructions

1. Combine water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a saucepan, and bring it to a simmer. Stir occasionally as the sugar dissolves.
2. Add the Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and cherries. Stir to coat all of the cherries in the syrup. Cook for 5 minutes to soften the cherries slightly. 
3. Turn off the heat and allow the cherries to cool. Once cooled, store in the fridge in a tightly sealed jar. 

Notes

• Readers have let me know that they've used frozen organic cherries in this recipe (instead of fresh) and that it has turned out well! So when cherries aren't in season, or maybe don't look so great, you can still make this recipe and enjoy!
• Readers have also noted that you can make this with sweet or sour cherries, depending on your preferences.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

What equipment will you need to make these cherries?

Not much that’s out of the ordinary, but…

• You can store them in Mason jars pretty easily
• Sometimes it’s hard to find cinnamon sticks in the regular grocery store (or they’re expensive)

Looking for other delicious additions to your home bar?

• You can’t go wrong with this easy and delicious Homemade Sour Mix!
• Rosemary Infused Vodka is herbaceous and easy to make.
• Summertime is right around the corner, making Basil Infused Vodka a must-make.

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