Greyhound (Salty Dog)

A simple, refreshing mix of gin or vodka and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Add a touch of simple syrup if your grapefruits are a bit too tart. The easy two ingredient template makes a solid base for a host of variations: add a salted rim for the Salty Dog, or pour a splash of vermouth or amaro, such as Punt e Mes or Campari for the Italian Greyhound. Instead of simple syrup you could add a splash of grenadine for a pretty pink color, but note that this will change the flavor.

To turn it into a Salty Dog, moisten the rim of the glass and dip in salt.

The earliest known mention of a cocktail of this description is in bartender and author Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930. Craddock describes his recipe as "...a variation of the Grapefruit Cocktail...", suggesting that such cocktails were already in common use before his book was written. His recipe consists of nothing but gin, grapefruit juice and ice.

A recipe for a similar cocktail with the name "Greyhound" appears in Harper's magazine in 1945 (volume 191, page 461) thus: "The cocktails were made of vodka, sugar, and canned grapefruit juice -- a greyhound. This cocktail was served at Greyhound's popular restaurant chain that was located at bus terminals, called 'Post House'."

It should be noted that before 1945, vodka was an uncommon spirit and that most drinks we think of today as "classic cocktails" and which call for vodka, originally would have contained gin. As vodka's popularity grew after the War and gin's popularity waned, many of the popular cocktails persisted, albeit with vodka substituted for gin. The most conspicuous of these is the Martini which, before 1945, would invariably have been made with gin.

Ice cubes
1 part gin or vodka
4 parts freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, pink, if desired
1 teaspoon simple syrup (optional)

Fill a chilled Old Fashioned glass halfway with ice cubes.

Add the gin or vodka and grapefruit juice, stir, and taste. Too tart? Add the simple syrup, stir again, and serve.