Tonic Grapefruit Botanical mocktail recipe
Grapefruit, tonic and rosemary syrup for a dry, pale-pink long drink.
Method: Build · Glass: Highball glass · Time: 4 minutes · Difficulty: Beginner
Ingredients
- 1½ oz fresh ruby grapefruit juice
- ¼ oz rosemary simple syrup
- ¼ oz fresh lime juice
- 4 oz chilled tonic water
- to fill large ice cubes
How to make it
- Fill a highball with ice.
- Add grapefruit juice, rosemary syrup and lime juice.
- Top slowly with cold tonic water.
- Lift once, then add the grapefruit and rosemary.
Garnish
A grapefruit half-moon and short rosemary sprig
Why this balance works
Tonic and grapefruit are both bitter, so this is intentionally drier than a juice highball. The small amount of rosemary syrup rounds the edge without making the drink taste like herb candy. Use pink grapefruit for a softer fruit note or white grapefruit for a more bitter result. If your tonic is sweet, cut the syrup to a bar spoon.
Technique to keep
Keep tonic water separate from the citrus until the glass is built. Shake or stir the citrus too much and the drink loses its clean bubbles before it reaches the table. Everything should be well chilled; cold ingredients need less ice melt to taste integrated.
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