A Blood Orange Greyhound Cocktail

A Greyhound is a cocktail consisting of grapefruit juice and either gin or vodka; it is traditionally served over ice.  “Greyhound” is also the nickname given to my husband by a friend in law school due to his tall, thin physique.  Although the two are unrelated, I have an affinity toward anything greyhound-related. So this post is a nod to my husband, my love of all dogs, and my enjoyment of a great cocktail.  If you add salt to the rim of the glass of a classic Greyhound, you have a favorite of mine, the salty dog–which I blogged about last summer.

A Greyhound is considered a great morning or brunch cocktail but truthfully can be a great go-to drink any time of day, especially during the Spring and Summer months.  Like a Screwdriver, there are many variations of this classic drink. Using fresh fruit juice will almost always improve a cocktail dramatically and is something I insist on. I think that the addition of fresh blood orange juice to the grapefruit juice takes this cocktail to another level.

The earliest known reference to a Greyhound was in the 1930s in Harry Craddock’s Savory Cocktail Book.  This recipe consisted only of gin, grapefruit juice, and ice.  A vodka variation did not appear until around 1945 when post-war tastes began to replace gin with vodka in this and many other classic cocktails.  My blood orange Greyhound is both sweet and tart and is 100% refreshing. I add some orange bitters to enhance the blood orange flavor which is a true favorite of mine.  This is a lovely cocktail and a great go-to for sipping on during those warm Summer months.