A Celebration-Worthy Grapefruit Gin Fizz
Whether you’re celebrating Christmas Eve, or just the fact that you felt like making a cocktail, this bright and bubbly grapefruit gin fizz is definitely the festive drink you want to be toasting with. It might look a bit fussy—with a rosemary-infused simple syrup and a cardamom-infused gin—but it’s quite simple to make, really. And for a small cocktail party or a special occasion, it’s just the kind of drink we love to serve. The warm, wintery spice of cardamom-infused gin, the tart pucker that comes from freshly-squeezed grapefruit, the subtle earthiness of the rosemary syrup join forces to create magic in a glass. Fancy has a place, especially at the holidays and especially when in the form of the perfect cocktail, like this blushing grapefruit gin fizz!
Infused Gin: Really Easy To Make, and P.S. It Makes A Great, Easy DIY Holiday Gift!
The two DIY elements of this cocktail—the cardamom gin and the rosemary simple syrup—may sound like something you’d only ever find on the menu at a dimly lit, hard-to-get-in-to cocktail bar, but they’re actually super simple to make at home. In other words, all the fancy cocktail goodness that you love is easily within reach, with none of the waiting to get in, or having to wear actual pants! Unless, of course, you’re planning to drink this with friends at a cocktail party—in that case, we do recommend wearing actual, non-sweatpant pants. But we digress! Back to the infusing of the gin and simple syrup. Before we walk you through the process for making these two DIY ingredients, we pause for a little holiday season FYI! The cardamom gin and rosemary simple syrup both make really nice holiday gifts! Pour them into little air-tight mason jars and include the recipe for this cocktail with the two infusions, along with a bottle of prosecco, if you’re feeling really generous. OK, without further ado—here’s how to make cardamom gin and rosemary simple syrup:
For the cardamom gin:
- You definitely want to use a gin that you like to drink, but this isn’t a moment for the absolute finest gin ever since you are going to infuse it and alter its flavor. We like to use a good quality, middle-shelf London dry gin for this, like Bombay Dry or Beefeater.
- To make the cardamom gin, simply combine gin and whole cardamom pods in a jar, and let them sit for about 24 hours until the gin has taken on the fragrance of cardamom. Then, strain out the pods and your infused gin is ready to go!
For the rosemary simple syrup:
- Simple syrup is—guess what?!—so simple. It’s all about knowing the ratio of sugar to water that is needed to make classic simple syrup and—see if you can remember this—that ratio is 1:1. Yep! Simple syrup is just a syrup made from a 1:1 combination of sugar and water that’s heated until the sugar has dissolved.
- To infuse a simple syrup with rosemary, just pop a couple of rosemary sprigs into the sugar and water as they simmer. When the syrup is done, strain them out and you’ve got a gorgeously woodsy, wintery simple syrup. It’s delicious in mocktails, too! Try a little pour of it stirred into a festive mocktail made from fizzy water and a splash of cranberry juice. Our Spiced Bourbon Cocktail features an orange-cranberry simple syrup, for another great simple syrup recipe to try.
How To Make A Cardamom & Grapefruit Gin Fizz
Once you’ve got the infusions made, this grapefruit gin cocktail is super simple to make! Pro tip: If you’re only making one or two of these, you might want to buy a smaller amount of prosecco for making this cocktail—it’s pretty easy to find small half-bottles these days, or even small cans of prosecco.
Here’s how to mix up this yummy gin fizz recipe:
- Place lots of ice in a cocktail shaker—or you can use a large mason jar with a tight lid if you don’t have a shaker.
- Pour in the rosemary syrup, gin and grapefruit juice. Shake hard for about 30 seconds. A traditional gin fizz is super frothy, so lots of shaking give it that frothed up look. It’ll also ensure that the ingredients are well-mixed.
- Strain the cocktail into a glass filled with fresh ice.
- Top with a splash of prosecco, and serve!
Tools You’ll Need:
- Cocktail shaker
- Cocktail strainer
- Small saucepan
- Mason jars or other container with a tight-fitting lid
More Cocktail Recipes to Try
Bottom’s Up!
Cheers to you and yours! We hope this festive gin fizz perks up your celebrations, large and small. If you make it, let us know how you like it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
