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If I had to pick my favorite cocktail, a Gimlet would 1,000,000% be in my top three faves. Because I’m a huge Gin fan and I prefer tart drinks to sweet ones, a Gimlet satisfies everything I want in a cocktail. It’s got that perfect combo of herbal, tart, and sweet that makes it verrrrry easy to drink. And very hard to stop at just one. Or two. Or three.

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A Gimlet is also easy to make a riff on! Although the classic will always be my favorite, it's fun to make them with all sorts of liquors and syrups and flavor combinations. Since Gin and grapefruit are a natural pairing, it was a no brainer that I had to come up with a grapefruit riff using the ruby reds plucked from my own tree!

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It was tough work to test out different combos, but I sucked it up and did it. And I have to say, I’m really happy with the end result! The grapefruit flavor really shines, which is what I was after, and the balance between tart and sweet is just right.

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One note for anyone new to making cocktails: citrus/citrus juice is NOT directly interchangeable! If a recipe calls for 1 oz of lime juice, simply swapping it for orange or lemon or grapefruit juice is not going to give you the same result. This recipe is a perfect example of that! Although I wanted a grapefruit-forward drink, my grapefruits are sweeter than limes, so I still needed a touch of lime for balance. And since grapefruit juice isn’t typically as pungent as lime juice, I needed more grapefruit juice than the amount of lime juice called for in a classic Gimlet. So don’t be afraid to experiment to find the ratios that work for you.

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Also, if grapefruits aren’t in season or aren’t particularly flavorful where you are, feel free to add a dash of grapefruit bitters to this recipe. You’d be surprised the oomph a tiny dash of bitters can give to a drink!