The Case To Use More Grapefruit Peel
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Since the incarnation of social media and photo sharing, cocktail garnishes have grown and gotten more inventive. Garnishes are mostly decorative ornaments on a drink, but some serve a specific function in cocktails by imparting fresh flavor. But these days the better your garnish game the more "likes" you get.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for innovation and creativity, but I'm a bit old-fashioned when it comes to garnishes. The simpler the better (not to mention easier), except for tiki-style drinks where I tend to take more imaginative liberties.
One garnish that hardly sees any playing time in stirred drinks is the grapefruit peel (ruby or pink). Mostly reserved for gin or agave based drinks, the grapefruit peel can be used in a variety of spirit based drinks. Yes, grapefruit with gin and tequila or mezcal works phenomenally, but it can also be used in a brandy, rum or whiskey based stirred drinks.
The grapefruit is slightly tart and sweet and has a much more pronounced floral and aromatic quality. It can liven up a cocktail and bring a whole new profile to an ordinary, stirred drink. That doesn't mean that any cocktail recipe can work with a grapefruit peel; it needs the right components. By components, I mean modifiers. For instance, below I used Ramazzotti which has citrus and licorice characteristics and holds up nicely to the grapefruit flavor. I also used Dolin Blanc and Punt e Mes that pair rather well too. I even incorporated other flavors like orange, cherry and apricot bitters, which all would work nicely mixed in a fruit cup if they were served together.
Confused? Don't be. Think of the flavor combinations that work in food recipes. For instance, grapefruit and vanilla, grapefruit and basil, grapefruit and mint, grapefruit and chocolate or grapefruit slices in everyday salads work tremendously well together. The point and my case is that grapefruit goes well with a huge variety of diverse flavors, so why should the lemon or orange peel get more use?
Below are examples of two stirred drinks that use the grapefruit peel as a garnish, which help improve the overall taste of the cocktail.
The Ramazzotti Negroni or "Milano Negroni":
1.5 oz gin (I recommend Beefeater)
.75 oz Dolin Blanc
.75 oz Ramazzotti Amaro
1 dash orange bitters
Garnish: grapefruit peel
tiny pinch of salt or a drop of 1:1 Salt to Water tincture
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and add ice. Stir until properly diluted. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish.
Bourbon Spiced Apricot or "Veronica CornNStone":
2 oz bourbon
.5 oz Punt e Mes
.5 oz Ramazzotti
2 dash apricot bitters (or any stone fruit bitters)
1 dash spiced cherry bitters
barspoon gum syrup
pinch of salt or a 1:1 drop of salt to water tincture
Garnish: grapefruit peel
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and add ice. Stir until properly diluted. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish.
Substitutions:
Punt e Mes: A full-bodied vermouth, like Carpano Antica can be used in a pinch. However, add an extra dash of spiced cherry bitters to give more body to the cocktail.
Ramazzotti: Ramazzotti is an extremely versatile and affordable amaro. I highly recommend keeping a bottle on your homebar. But if you don't have it, you can try some other amari, like Amaro Lucano, Averna, or Amaro Ciocaro.
Gum Syrup: Demerara simple syrup can be used in a pinch. If necessary, a small bar spoon of Luxardo Maraschino can be used, but will change the flavor profile of the cocktail. The gum syrup adds sublte sweetness, but what you are looking for is mouth feel or a more viscous consistency.
Bitters: The bitters can be bought or made at home. However, orange bitters can be substituted for Apricot if necessary. Angostura can be substituted for cherry, but both would make an entirely different, but balanced drink. I would also use an orange peel garnish instead.
Note: The use of Ramazzotti in both cocktails was shear circumstance as it was on my counter at the time I made these drinks and is also an incredibly versatile modifier.
