Salty Dawg

It’s spring!

Yeah, right!

Spring is what they say … it’s what the calendar says … it’s what all the cute clothes and shoes are saying in the stores … but raining and snowing and sleeting and yucking is what it has been doing in Maine.

The weather in the last two weeks must be Mother Nature’s way of making sure we all know who is really in charge around these parts.

So while (again) waiting for the Dear One to finally make it home after delayed, missed and cancelled flights, a new cocktail seemed in order.

This recipe was tested, many times, by Lisa and I so that it would be perfected by the time the Dear One finally arrived.

While squeezing the last of our fabulous ruby red grapefruit from K-Y Farms in Texas, I made some ruby red grapefruit ice cubes to plunk in this drink. Thank you Paul and Susan for the fabulous grapefruit! Just as an aside, if you haven’t had ruby red grapefruit from Texas, you don’t know what you’re missing! I thought they were all alike … until I tried these!

It’s a great drink to make by the pitcherful, just sprinkle the Maldon salt on each drink as you pour. The salt doesn’t really make the drink salty, it just brightens the flavors of the citrus while giving it just a wee bit of brininess.

So, while it’s not spring-like outside, this drink makes you think and feel as though spring has truly arrived!

• 1 1/2 ounces of gin
• 3 ounces fresh ruby red grapefruit juice
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• Pinch Maldon salt

NOTE: I used Tanqueray gin. Use any sort of grapefruit you prefer. I think the red or pink is better than the white … and it’s pretty!

Add gin and grapefruit juice to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until well chilled, about 20 seconds. Strain into ice-filled glass, add salt on top and serve.

NOTE: To make a pitcher, just multiply the ingredients by the number of cocktails you’d like. I mixed it all in the pitcher and stuck it in the fridge so it was good and cold and poured it over the grapefruit ice cubes when serving.