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I really don’t talk about drinks too often on here but let me tell ya, that’s gotta change. We’re all still dealing with COVID-19 and if you’re like me, then that means at-home cocktail hours are a must at least once a week.
I figured what better recipe to share with you guys than my absolute, hands down, all-time favorite cocktail- The Greyhound.
What’s a Greyhound cocktail you ask?
A Greyhound is either gin or vodka (I prefer vodka) served with grapefruit juice. Yeah, it’s simple. But wouldn’t you guess that the simplest of recipes mean that there’s really no margin for slacking…
Yeah, I suppose you could buy some grapefruit juice but trust me when I say it will not taste the same. The KEY to this recipe in my humble opinion is the fresh-squeezed juice from grapefruits.
Plus, when you use fresh squeezed fruit you can insure there are no sneaky added sugars! Always a plus in my book. Sugary drinks honestly make my whole body malfunction…headaches, stomach aches….the whole nine yards. So I say bust out that juicer you got for your last birthday that you swore you would use to juice celery with (hey, we all fell victim to that trend!) and get to juicing some grapefruits!
Be advised that I used this little drink strainer you see in the picture above! Not being personally familiar with how juicers work, I will just assume that we all may need to avoid pulp whether we’re juicers or hand-juicers.
I used my hand juicer and placed the fine strainer over a large mouth mason jar to pour the juice through. Caught a LOT of pulp and seeds, so this is a key piece of equipment for this recipe.
Once you’re done juicing all your grapefruits, then you will need to make a homemade simple syrup. Do not start to panic at this point… it’s called “simple” for a reason! Really is so easy. You just dissolve equal parts sugar and water, cool and voilá!
Why do you use simple syrup? Because it helps sweeten up cocktails and just mixing in plain sugar to a chilled drink will leave it grainy. The simple syrup allows you to dissolve all the sugar before adding it to the drink.
I chose to use monk fruit sugar in my simple syrup and it worked great. Monk fruit sugar does not actually contain any calories and actually has some antioxidant properties since it’s from a plant. It’s my personal favorite sugar alternative.
Since this Greyhound version is comprised of just fresh juice, a monk fruit simple syrup and vodka, it’s certainly in the “healthy cocktail” category. Hope you enjoy!
AuthorAshleyJuice the grapefruits to produce 24oz of pulp-free juice.
NOTE: I put a fine strainer over the top of a wide-mouth mason jar to strain out any pulp or seeds from the juice before it went into the jar.
For the simple syrup, add the water and monk fruit sweetener into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sweetener dissolves, about 2 minutes. Then remove it from the heat and allow to cool. Once it's cool, add it to a mason jar or container to keep it in your fridge for up to a month!
Next, combine 4oz of the simple syrup with the 24oz fresh grapefruit juice. Give it a stir and a quick taste test. If you prefer it sweeter, add in .5oz at a time until it is sweet enough for you.
Finally, combine 7oz of the sweetened grapefruit juice with vodka of your choice over ice (standard liquor pour is 1.5oz per serving, but I'll leave that part up to you). Garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary and a slice of grapefruit!
Ingredients
Directions
Juice the grapefruits to produce 24oz of pulp-free juice.
NOTE: I put a fine strainer over the top of a wide-mouth mason jar to strain out any pulp or seeds from the juice before it went into the jar.
For the simple syrup, add the water and monk fruit sweetener into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sweetener dissolves, about 2 minutes. Then remove it from the heat and allow to cool. Once it's cool, add it to a mason jar or container to keep it in your fridge for up to a month!
Next, combine 4oz of the simple syrup with the 24oz fresh grapefruit juice. Give it a stir and a quick taste test. If you prefer it sweeter, add in .5oz at a time until it is sweet enough for you.
Finally, combine 7oz of the sweetened grapefruit juice with vodka of your choice over ice (standard liquor pour is 1.5oz per serving, but I'll leave that part up to you). Garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary and a slice of grapefruit!