Are you ready for the most refreshing, memorable cocktail of the summer?
I recently made a super fizzy grapefruit-basil soda with my water kefir grains which I loved, and a grapefruit simple syrup. These were done with pink grapefruits, which added a nice color, but any grapefruit will do.
These have been delicious on their own, but I also had the idea of making a kind of fermenty, fizzy version of a Greyhound, which is a refreshing cocktail of grapefruit juice and vodka (or gin). Salt the rim, and it’s a Salty Dog.
I have to say, I love this cocktail so much, it’s going to be hard to go back to a regular old Greyhound after this (or any other cocktail for a while). But that’s okay, because the soda and syrup are really not hard to make, and if you’re using a culture from water kefir grains, the ferment time can be as short as a day, versus 3 days or more with many other cultures.
With no further ado, here’s the recipe:
You will need:
- Highball glass
- Stirring spoon
- Ice
- Cocktail pick (optional) for fruit garnishes
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. vodka (or gin)
- 1/2 oz. grapefruit simple syrup (video instructions here)
- Grapefruit-basil soda (4 oz. or as needed to top off)
- Grapefruit (or other fruit or citrus) and/or muddled basil to garnish
- Salt for rim (optional)
Directions:
If you want to give a salt rim (or sugar rim) to your glass, do that first by cutting into a grapefruit or other citrus slice, place the cut part of the fruit onto the glass rim and move it around the rim to lightly wet it; then turn the glass upside down, press the rim onto a salted plate and give a couple turns.
1.) In the tall glass, combine the vodka and syrup and stir thoroughly.
2.) Add plenty of ice and top off with the grapefruit soda. Gently stir and garnish as desired.
