For Remembrance — A pale bitter aperitif shaken with grapefruit, named for Ophelia's rosemary

For Remembrance

A pale bitter aperitif shaken with grapefruit, named for Ophelia's rosemary

Number of people

Ingredients

  • 1 ozGran Classico
    The bitter quarter, and the only dark thing in the glass
    Substitute: Another gentian-led bitter aperitivo
  • 2 dashesGrapefruit Bitters
    The source says grapefruit bitters without naming a brand
    Substitute: Any grapefruit bitters
  • 1 ozGrapefruit Juice
    Fresh, and shaken so it aerates
  • 1 ozLillet Rose
    The pink one, not the Blanc
  • 1 ozBianco Vermouth
    Bianco rather than dry; the drink wants the weight

Instructions

  1. Add 1 oz Gran Classico, 1 oz Lillet Rose, 1 oz bianco vermouth, 1 oz grapefruit juice and 2 dashes grapefruit bitters to a shaker
  2. Fill with ice and shake until cold

    Shaken, not stirred; the grapefruit needs aerating

  3. Strain into a chilled coupe
  4. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a lemon twist

Technique Notes

Shake it rather than stir it, despite the low acid. There is only an ounce of grapefruit juice in four ounces of drink, and shaking is what aerates that into the texture the drink wants; stirred, it reads as a heavy aperitif rather than a light one.

Why the For Remembrance Works

Gran Classico is the same bitterness a Campari drink runs on without the red, so a pale drink can carry it without looking like something it is not. Grapefruit meets it twice, as juice and as bitters, and rosemary picks up the wormwood that is already there.