Grapefruit Gimlet
Gin, fresh grapefruit and lime with a little sugar, shaken. The Gimlet with grapefruit's bitterness — pink, tart and a Greyhound's grown-up cousin.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the gin, grapefruit juice, lime juice and simple syrup to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe and express a grapefruit twist over the top.
A thoughtful finish
- Fresh grapefruit; it is a third of the drink.
- Keep the lime; it is what makes it a Gimlet rather than a Greyhound.
- A salt rim turns it toward a Salty Dog.
Common mistakes
- Carton grapefruit juice.
- Too much syrup; the grapefruit's bitterness is the point.
- Skipping the lime.
A few good questions.
What does a Grapefruit Gimlet taste like?
Gin and tart grapefruit with lime's edge and a little sugar — pink, bright and slightly bitter.
Grapefruit Gimlet or Greyhound?
The Greyhound is built with juice over ice; this is shaken with lime and served up.
Pink or white grapefruit?
Pink for sweetness and colour; white for a drier drink.
Which gin?
A London dry, or a grapefruit-led gin to double the citrus.
Variations
Where it comes from
c. 2000s · United States
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The Gimlet is gin and lime; swapping half the lime for fresh grapefruit juice is a craft-era move that turns it into a drink with grapefruit’s bitterness and a pink colour, and it has been on menus under this name since the 2000s. It sits between the Gimlet and the Greyhound — shaken and served up like the first, grapefruit-flavoured like the second — with a touch of simple syrup to balance the fruit. Pink grapefruit is sweeter and the usual choice; white is drier. A grapefruit-led gin (Malfy Rosa, Tanqueray Rangpur) doubles down. It is a bright, easy summer drink that tastes more complicated than it is.
Sources
- Difford's Guide, Grapefruit Gimlet, 2012 (reference)
- Liquor.com, Grapefruit Gimlet, 2019 (reference)
- Punch, Gimlet Variations, 2016 (reference)
Strength. About 1.47 US standard drinks at an estimated 17.6% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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