Make your own "Italian" Greyhound - Your new favorite cocktail.

While I do love me a good Aperol spritz (oh, sweet summertime – or just anytime really), I’ve been itching to see what other great cocktails I can make during another (now) virtual aperitivo with friends and co-workers. Alongside Aperol, I really love gin and I can thank my grandmother (Guppy) for that because she loved a cold Tanqueray and Tonic on a hot summer day.

After deep thought, and a few Zoom Happy Hours (what we call an Aperitivo here in America) I knew that there had to be some way to be some way to combine two of my favorite liquors to make the ultimate “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere” cocktail – and I have found it. It’s known as the “Italian Greyhound” and I am innamorato (in love). I viewed a couple of different versions of this cocktail online and after making a few of these for myself, I have perfected my version of this recipe to share with all of you. Not into Aperol or Gin? No problem, I’ve included a non-alcoholic version of this so you can get your “Hangout, Zoom, House Party, Skype” or whatever it is that you’re doing when you need taste bud tingling sip of sunshine.

Ingredients:

1.5 oz Gin – whichever brand you perfer! I’m using Cold River Gin that I picked up on my last trip to Maine
3/4 oz Aperol
1/2-1 whole fresh grapefruit (pompelmo)
2 tbs. of sugar (2 cucchiaio di zucchero) for the rim
1 sprig of rosemary (rosmarino)
Splash of Tonic water or regular seltzer or mineral water

Ingredients (Non-alcoholic):

1 whole fresh grapefruit (pompelmo)
2 tbs. sugar (2 cucchiaio di zucchero) for the rim
1 sprig of rosemary
1/2 cup of Tonic water or regular seltzer or mineral water
1 tsp of sugar – *feel free to choose another sweetener if you prefer* (1 cucchiaino di zucchero) to mix with the grapefruit juice to obtain same sweetness that Aperol gives

Preparation:

Start with cleaning your grapefruit and slicing it in half to get it ready for juicing. Using a citrus juicer (mine was a few dollars from the grocery store), juice one half or the entire grapefruit into a separate bowl.

Don’t throw that half away after juicing it just yet! Use it to coat the rim of your glass to prepare it for a coating of sugar and chopped rosemary.

Take a small plate and add two tablespoons of white sugar and a few small pieces of chopped rosemary. Using the glass with the grapefruit juice around the rim, dip it into the sugar for a nice, sweet coating.

Next, fill the glass with ice.

Measure out 1.5 ounces of Gin (the larger side of the jigger if you are using one, or fill up a shot glass) and pour over the ice.

After your Gin is chilling over the ice, measure out 1 ounce of Aperol (the smaller side of the jigger, or half of a shot glass) and add it to the Gin.

Grab the bowl full of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and add it to the Gin and Aperol.

Depending on how much juice your grapefruit had, you should have a little room left in your glass for the tonic water (or seltzer if you prefer), add a splash!

Take a spoon and gently stir to mix all of these delicious flavors together.

The drink is not complete until you add a tall sprig of fresh rosemary, which really adds to the flavor of the entire drink – you will thank me for this!

Optional: I have a kitchen torch (hello, crème brulee) that I used to lightly toast my rosemary in order to release a more intense flavor. Try it out for yourself, using a match or lighter – it’s all about experimenting to find which taste you prefer!

As I’m typing this, I’m salivating and craving another one of these refreshing drinks – however it’s 11:30pm so perhaps we’ll save that for tomorrow? But then again, a night cap never hurt anyone (even the non-alcoholic option)! I hope that you enjoyed my version of this drink that I’ll be sipping on in my next virtual zoom appointment or in my backyard on a sunny afternoon. May you be creative in the kitchen with your next cocktail/mocktail and know that better times are ahead, but why not indulge in something sweet in the meantime!

With a summertime mind and an italian (greyhound),