Grapefruit-Honey Liqueur, and a Sweet and Salty-Dog Cocktail

Reader Contribution by Tammy Kimbler

It’s ironic that citrus season is in the middle of winter. I associate oranges with California, grapefruit with Texas, orange juice with Florida, limes with Mexico. Those are all sunny, summery locations, not the snowbound frozen tundra I find myself in these days. So I celebrate citrus while it’s here because when summer comes to the north, oranges just aren’t that great.

Preserving citrus is a bit of a challenge. While I know folks that dehydrate sliced fruit, that just isn’t that appealing to me. I want something that captures that juicy, bright, bitter-sweetness of the citrus. My go-to preserving techniques are marmalades and alcohol infusions, with liqueurs being one of my favorites. Nothing says summer like a cocktail with a shot of citrus liqueur, be it a margarita, sidecar, french 75 or cosmopolitan.

Grapefruit makes amazing liqueur. Because the big fruits hold on to their acid and juice much longer than oranges, you’re sure to get a good grapefruit at the store. I despise buying citrus that turns out to be insipid, pithy and dry. What a waste! This grapefruit honey liqueur is sweet, tart and bitter all rolled into one, making it perfect cocktail material. I’ve included a variation on the Salty Dog cocktail below, with the grapefruit flavor turned up to 11. You can use this liqueur in place of orange liqueurs like triple sec or grand mariner. It would work great in this Triple Orange Margarita recipe from my blog. Just replace all the orange with grapefruit.

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