This grapefruit martini recipe is our version of a Silk Road cocktail that harnesses the exotic herbs and spices found in the gin, ginger, star anise and bitters to deliver a balanced cocktail with a silky finish and a touch of bubbles. An elegant martini that’s great for entertaining.
This lovely cocktail is inspired by a cocktail that I saw briefly on instagram, thought it looked amazing and then lost it forever. However, I managed to remember that the name of the cocktail had “Silk Road” in it. After googling a “silk road” cocktail, we found that it was a cocktail that is usually made with gin and crafted with exotic spices, hence the name “silk road” after the famous spice trade route. This is our version made with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, ginger infused simple syrup, tart lime juice, a touch of freshly grated ginger, star anise, a couple shakes of rhubarb bitters and topped off with a bit of bubbly. Just to make it sparkle!
We absolutely LOVE this cocktail. I think we will probably make these to sip on after Father’s Day dinner. I think the boys will even love them. I know Mark, Debbie’s husband, will for sure. He appreciates a fruity cocktail from time to time. These are definitely in the fruity cocktail category, but they aren’t girly. Citrus and spice are manly right? Either way, this grapefruit martini, or Silk Road if you will, is firmly in our top 10.
We had a bit of a mishap, shall we say, during our photoshoot for this grapefruit martini. I was moving the board around to try to straighten out the lines and of course, this moved the cookie sheet we had in the back ground. It toppled over and hit the cocktail shaker in the back which, in turn, got knocked over and hit our lovely delicate cocktail glass which promptly tipped over and spilled the entire contents in my direction. All over our board and the floor and my legs. It was just like domino’s and Debbie and I just watched it happen, as if in slow motion, and we just stood there lol. Now that, my friends, is a terrible waste of an excellent drink. Plus a pain in the ass because we had to clean up EVERYTHING and then make another grapefruit martini and start again….
C’est la vie. We just decided that we needed one more after this one. For our troubles…
Ive had a number of requests for this stemware, but unfortunately I found ONE at Homesense, but I haven’t been able to find any others. I found a couple similar and beautiful glasses on Amazon so here are some links to those glasses:
Elegance Champagne Belle Coupe Glass (Pack of 2)
Riedel Veritas Moscato/Coupe (Pack of 2)
Silk Road - A Grapefruit Martini
A grapefruit martini made with grapefruit juice, ginger infused simple syrup, lime juice, grated ginger, star anise, rhubarb bitters and a touch of bubbly.
Ingredients
GINGER INFUSED SIMPLE SYRUP
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- good 2 or 3 inch chunk of fresh ginger cut into smaller chunks
FOR THE COCKTAIL
- 2 oz gin
- 4 oz grapefruit juice (about 1 whole grapefruit)
- 1 tsp ginger infused simple syrup
- juice of half a lime
- 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 star annise
- couple shakes of rhubarb bitters (or any fruit bitters you might have on hand)
- top with champagne or sparkling wine (about 3 - 4 oz)
Instructions
MAKE THE SIMPLE SYRUP
Add all the ingredients to a small pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the mixture thickens slightly. Just until it coats the back of a spoon. About 10 - 15 mins. Turn off the heat and let it cool completely.
Store in an airtight container (mason jars work great) until you are ready to use it. Strain the syrup before you use it in a cocktail.
MAKE THE COCKTAIL
Add all the ingredients EXCEPT THE BUBBLY, into a cocktail shaker. Shake it well to combine and pour into a martini glass or other similar size cocktail glass.
Top with the sparkling wine or champagne and serve.
yummmm! I love anything that has gin and ginger!
We love fresh ginger in cocktails too!
Yummm! I am getting ready to make this delectable cocktail but am curious if you filter out the ginger in the simple syrup at any point? Perhaps before pouring it into the shaker?
Ya, I would strain the ginger out before you make the cocktail. Ive updated the recipe to say this. Hope you love it!