It's the last day of 2013, my friends. You deserve a cocktail.
Pull up a chair, let's talk about the highlights of 2013 and the goals for 2014. Was 2013 kind of a crummy year for you? Was it the best ever? Tell me...I have drinks for us!
I feel like I've waxed poetic about my love of bourbon and old fashioneds before, but this entire blog doesn't have a single recipe for an old fashioned, which is kinda sad.
In my experience, there are a lot of people who know how to make terrible old fashioneds, so I usually steer clear of them if I know I'm not at a fancy mixology kinda bar. The last time I went to a dive bar and ordered an old fashioned, the bartender pulled out a packet of Sweet 'n Low and mixed it into the bourbon. I 'bout freaked out.
I'll need to do a classic recipe for a good old fashioned soon, but in the interim, I bring you a fun new twist: Grapefruit Old Fashioned.
I first made this drink last summer and then remade it for Christmas.
I had fresh sage on hand so I added it to the simple syrup for just a hint of herbaceousness. It's definitely not necessary and feel free to leave it out or swap it for different mild herbs.
I'd say 2013 was filled with some pretty fantastic moments. First, there was Amelia. Having a corgi all to myself was a dream come true. And then there was my lil' cookbook! which was also pretty dreamy. There were some challenges along the way, too; not everything is pancakes, glitter and corgi butts, but nothing that I didn't learn from. I'm feeling pretty good about 2014. I'm ready to ring in the New Year.
Thank you all so much for you support this year. I'm so glad you're here. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2014. See you next year.
Ingredients
Sage Syrup:
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- 3-4 sprig fresh sage
Drink:
- 4 ruby red grapefruits
- Angostura bitters
- Bourbon of choice I used Bulleit
- Sparkling water
- Ice
Instructions
- Place a saucepan over medium heat and add the water and sugar; mix until the sugar dissolves. Add the sprigs of sage and bring the mixture to a simmer, cooking for 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and allow the syrup to steep while you make the rest of the drink, about 10 minutes. After it's done steeping, remove the sprigs of sage and discard.
- Before you juice the grapefruits, slice off four grapefruit rings for garnish. Juice the grapefruit juice into a measuring cup. If you happen to despise pulp (that would be me!), feel free to strain the grapefruit juice.
- To make the cocktail, add about 3 to 4 liquid ounces of grapefruit juice and two tablespoons of simple syrup to a glass. Add two dashes of bitters, 2 liquid ounces bourbon, a splash of sparkling water and ice. Stir until combined, and garnish with the grapefruit peel. Repeat the process until all the other cocktails are assembled.
Julie says
I have never made an Old-Fashioned before, but absolutely love grapefruit, so this has piqued my interest enough to try it.
Joy says
I love how the sage sprig turns to rosemary, hic-cup (!) step one.
Stephanie says
Happy 2014! I love a good old fashioned, but I never make things like this for myself. Maybe this is the year I need to change that.
Ice says
Wow! I'll definitely serve this on my post New year party. Thanks!
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
You had me at sage syrup--I can only imagine how delicious the sage is with grapefruit. Genius, pure genius. I will take two 😉
Lucy says
this drink looks amazing, but those coasters! where did you find them? happy new year!
Adrianna Adarme says
See above! Here's the link to their Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/theCoastal/sold?ref=shopinfo_sales_leftnav
Abby says
That looks delicious. And cute coasters. Where are they from?
Adrianna Adarme says
I got as a gift from Emma Magazine. I'm pretty sure they got them from TheCoastal on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/theCoastal/sold?ref=shopinfo_sales_leftnav
Iris R. says
Thank you! I made this last night and it was so delicious I barely even drank any bubbly at midnight. Happy New year!
Adrianna Adarme says
Oh yay! Hearing this makes me so happy. Happy New Year!
Prudy says
Oh, this is a beautiful thing. I love grapefruit. And a grapefruit Old Fashioned? Yeah, it's now on my drink menu tonight. <3 Happy New Year!!
Nicole says
Grrrrrl, this is why I heart you! Because you love whiskey, too. 🙂 And I would've slapped that bartender trying to put Sweet'n'Low in an Old Fashioned (were you in the South? 'Cause they love that stuff down there). Gonna have to make some of these this weekend! 🙂
Here's to an awesome 2014 for ya, filled with lots of cute corgi butt, Old Fashioned's, lots of yummy foods, and awesomeness! 😀
Nina says
Hey, easy on the South! 🙂 As A.J. Liebling wrote as far back as 1961, "The South is not monolithically insane."
Nicole says
Haha! I love the South. I'm from Texas (which sometimes considers itself part of the South). 🙂
Nina says
Hooray, me too! Then you are of the limited tribe that gets to talk anything resembling smack-- carry on!
Nina says
Happy New Year to you and Josh and Amelia! Your blog has been one of my favorite discoveries of 2013. Everything I have made from it-- and I have made a lot of things-- has been great! Thank you!!
Marie @ Little Kitchie says
YUM! Happy 2014, Adrianna!
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
I'm in looooove with this!! Living in Wisconsin, every bar SHOULD know how to make an old fashioned but there are some that are like "Lemme pull out this nasty old fashioned mix" and I'm like "NOOOOO". So props to you sister and Happy New Year!
Toby @ brag & butter says
Oh yes please. And the saaaaage? Giiiirl? Out there. Love it. The house down. My cocktail-to-represent-2013 would be a Negroni for sure. Why? Because I usually go for Americanos, and this year needed something stronger, but sticking with tradition. Very much going on (including starting to write the blog, continuing work on tha book, marrying, ...) indeed - but I'm ready for a refill!
autumn says
YUM! Love how you brightened up (and prettied up) the old fashioned w/ grapefruit. Happy New Year!