Recipe Description
Necessity might be the mother of invention, but “what’s handy” is at least its aunt.
I wanted to use up a grapefruit and was also in the mood for something different. Surfing a few waves on the interwebs, I found that elderflower and grapefruit was a tried and true combination–I was surprised by that! I was also surprised by how sweet it was to make the standard recipes combining gin, grapefruit and St. Germaine–and not in a great Honeymooners kind of way, more of a cloying Brimstone & Treacle kind of way. I think of grapefruit as bitter rather than sweet, but it really is pretty sweet underneath it all I guess.
That’s where the lemon juice comes in. As a general rule, if your cocktail is too sweet try lemon juice first thing (lime juice should also work–go with your gut–or what you have on hand!) I had lemon on hand (that’s what my gut told me too) and it worked like a charm! All that was left was naming it. I went for a portmanteau of pamplemousse (French for grapefruit) and fleur de sureau (French for elderflower). Although I’m using English gin, I’m also using St. Germain…and hey, maybe one of the well-reputed French gins would work in this! I’ll try one next time I have it handy 🙂
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 ounces Plymouth Gin or any London dry gin
- 2.5 ounces St Germaine elderflower liqueur
- 2.5 ounces grapefruit juice (fresh squeezed)
-
1.5 ounces lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
- 2 dashes orange bitters
-
2 ribbons grapefruit peel
optional...BUT I bet a basil leaf would be PERFECT in this...something about the finish just screams BASIL but I don't have any on hand so I can't prove out my instincts--maybe you will!!
Preparation
Put two Nick & Nora or similar glasses in the freezer (with ribbons if using).
Shake all ingredients thoroughly with ice.
Service
Remove glasses from freezer.
Strain cocktail into glasses.
Just brilliant! From the name (Corpse reviver…) to the undead look! LOL!