Grapefruit Gin Sour

I made grapefruit syrup and then made a gin sour with grapefruit juice and the grapefruit syrup. It was super good. I only used one grapefruit, about 1/4 of it for the ounce of juice for the cocktail, and the rest of it for the grapefruit syrup (which made about 4-5 ounces of syrup). 

To make grapefruit syrup, gently heat equal parts fresh grapefruit juice and granulated sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved (instead of a saucepan, I used a Pyrex measuring cup and heated the mixture about 30 seconds or so in the microwave). You don’t actually have to heat it at all, but it makes the sugar dissolve faster. Just don’t cook the juice. For a little extra flavor, zest the grapefruit and add the zest too. If using zest, let it steep for 30 minutes or so and then strain out the zest. Extra syrup can be used for more cocktails (such as a grapefruit margarita, a paloma, a grapefruit mojito, or in a Hemingway daiquiri instead of plain simple syrup) or would also be great in sparkling water. 

2 oz Hendrick’s gin

1 oz fresh grapefruit juice

1 oz fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz grapefruit syrup

1/2 oz elderflower liqueur (or triple sec)

Shake with ice and fine strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a bit of grapefruit or with a lemon wheel. 

Also good: just 2 oz gin, 1 oz lemon juice, and 1 oz grapefruit syrup.