Quick! Name this cocktail. I’m at a loss for what to call it. It’s not quite a sparkler, fizz or smash. It’s also not a daiquiri, which is made with rum, or a bee’s knees, although it’s close (this little pink number is made with vodka instead of gin). I’m not sure it qualifies as a martini, either, and let’s definitely not throw -tini on the end, which we all know is code for syrupy sweet, girly drinks.
Maybe I should pause to tell you what this drink is, precisely. It is composed of freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice, vodka, a splash of lemon, a sprig of rosemary and just enough honey simple syrup to make it irresistible. It is: fresh, pretty and pink, but not so sweet that a dude would refuse it. A gussied-up version of my rosemary gin fizz. Light and refreshing but packs a punch, which makes it perfect for the holiday season.
I thought about making up my own name for the drink, but I’m not feeling quite so bold this morning. Maybe it will come to me if I drink another cup of coffee. How about… Rose-Colored Glasses? Or, Pink Drink? Kidding. The Grapefruit Honey? Grapefruit is an awkward word, come to think of it. Grape. Fruit. It doesn’t taste like grapes, nor is it the color of grapes. Why?
Naming recipes is hard. I never know which name will go over well, or which will best sum up the essence of the recipe. The best recipe names incite stampedes to the kitchen; the worst fall flat and get skipped over in the recipe books. Ruby red and rosemary honey just occurred to me and sounds lovely to my ears, but if you have suggestions for this cocktail’s name, let’s hear them!
Ruby Red and Rosemary Honey Cocktail
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cocktail
A beautiful and light winter cocktail made with fresh grapefruit juice, vodka, lemon, rosemary and honey.
Ingredients
Honey simple syrup
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup water
Ingredients per drink
- 2 ounces fresh ruby red grapefruit juice (1 grapefruit yields 6 to 8 ounces of juice)
- 1 ½ ounces Stoli vodka (or gin)
- ½ small lemon, juiced
- ¼ to ½ ounce honey simple syrup
- 2-inch sprig of rosemary
- tiny dash of sea salt (trust me)
Garnish, per drink
- 2 to 3-inch sprig of rosemary
Instructions
- First, juice the grapefruits and make the honey simple syrup. Pour the honey and water into a small saucepan and warm over medium heat. Use a whisk to blend the honey into the water and remove from heat (there is no need to bring the mixture to a simmer, this process should only take a couple of minutes).
- Fill a small cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the grapefruit juice, vodka, lemon juice and honey simple syrup. Top with a sprig of rosemary and a dash of salt. Put on the lid and shake until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 20 seconds. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a small sprig of rosemary. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Gin would also be lovely in this cocktail.
- Leftover honey simple syrup should keep well, refrigerated and covered, for several weeks.
- You can use store-bought grapefruit juice if you’d like, but freshly squeezed juice tastes better.
▸ Nutrition Information
This cocktail would be perfect for all of your holiday festivities, including brunch. Invite your friends to join you on RecAPP by Stoli to capture your original moments. It’s a free app that lets you create video recaps of events and share them with friends. Just link your social networks, hit record, and share!
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Stoli and I received compensation for my participation. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who allow me to serve up more recipes. Opinions are my own, always. Savor Stoli Responsibly. STOLICHNAYA® Premium Vodka. 40% Alc/Vol. Distilled from grain. William Grant & Sons, Inc. New York, NY. © 2013 Spirits International, B.V.
P.s. Here a few more holiday cocktails you might like: cranberry margarita, apple cider hot toddy, blood orange French 75, pear nectar with reposado tequila and the rosemary gin fizz.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Kathryn
I have absolutely zero inspiration on the name front but, frankly, I’d drink this no matter what you called it! Such a beautiful colour and such a lovely combination of flavours.
Tina
How about “The Oz” for the ruby red shoes? It looks delicious whatever you name it!
★★★★★
Kate
Oh, I love that idea! I will sip on The Oz tonight. Wait, that sounds funny.
Joy Kramer
I thought of Triple R Pinky, but then a man wouldn’t drinky (it). Sounds yummy though. I do love grapefruit. I can about imagine it, but can’t make it at the moment.
Kate
Haha! Triple R Pinky. I like it.
Jamie Levine
I have nothing to name it. Other than uhhhhhmazing.
jacquie
not good with names either. though ruby red slipper keeps coming to mind as I want to put on my slippers and cozy up w/ a couple of these and a book underneath a nice warm comforter for the evening.
Kate
That is such a cute name! Thanks, Jacquie!
Margie O'Hara
How about a reindeer holiday name like Vixen (girlie) or a Comet? Sounds perfect for the holidays!
Hannah Bedford
An interesting piece of trivia: grapefruits are actually named such because they grow on trees in clusters, like grapes do!
Kate
Oh! That makes so much sense! Thanks, Hannah. :)
Joanne
I am terrible at naming things also. But I am obsessed with grapefruit drinks. So I must make this. And it will be so fabulous that it won’t even need a name. I’ll just call it The Drink.
(Maybe the Pink Honey Bee?)
Rhonda
Ruby’s Holiday Honey
Kate
Great idea!
Becky
So many tasty recipes on your home page right now!! That cauliflower soup and this cocktail… yum!!
★★★★★
Jamie Lee
The cocktail and ingredients are captured beautifully!
ashley-bakerbynature
Your photos are stunning, kate! And this cocktail needs to shake up my life asap :)
Hope you’re well, friend! xo
dishing up the dirt
I love the sound of this cocktail. The pressure of naming recipes is intense. I’m not even going to attempt this one! Cheers
Nicole
This drink is so dang pretty! I bet it’s tasty, too. It’s lady-like beauty makes me think it should be called The Pink Lady :) This would be the perfect sip for NYE!
Kate
Oh, I love that name! Thanks, Nicole!
Sarah Rose
Yum – looks amazing!!! May have to make these tonight. Your pictures are beautiful.
Julie
I love your drink recipes. If you published a book of drinks I’d buy one for me and one for each of my friends!
★★★★★
Sylvie@GitK
Whatever the name, it sounds delicious and just my kind of cocktail. I’m putting this one on the menu for the weekend.
Andi
Made this tonight with white grapefruit off my neighbor’s tree and gin instead of vodka. I love a Salty Dog, the addition of rosemary and a touch of honey is wonderful. Delicious!
Lauren
My Mom wanted me to comment for her, her and my Papa love this drink! Since my Papa just got off lipitor he’s been dying to have some grapefruit, and my Mom wanted to do something special for him for Christmas so she took a peek at this blog and decided to make the cocktail. Needless to say it was a hit! As for a name, how does Pretty in Pink sound?
Kate
Lauren, I’m so sorry I didn’t respond sooner! I’m so glad you all enjoyed the cocktail. Pretty in Pink is a terrific idea!
Quinn
Oh my god. I told my mom about this recipe around Thanksgiving time and I swear she has made one for herself at least twice a week since. Thanks for sharing! Love these pictures and this recipe…as always.
★★★★★
Alaina FabtasticEats
This sounds incredible! Grapefruit is my favorite citrus…I can only imagine how amazing this drink smells!
Troy Ezell Jr
Please name it the Ruby Catherine. Ruby because of the grapefruit. Catherine for Catherine the Great. (Ruby Catherine is my maternal grandmother who died when I was 19.) She (and my mom) taught me to cook and to entertain. It’s because of them that I am a caterer today!
(By the way; this coctail is devine.)
★★★★★
Troy Ezell Jr
…and I mispelled COCKTAIL…ugh!
★★★★★
Kate
I like that idea! I’m a fan of all Catherines (my name is Kathryne) and my best friend named her little girl Ruby, so those are sentimental names for me, too. Glad you enjoyed the cocktail, Troy.
Lisa
Could you substitute the simple honey syrup for the Stoli honey vodka, and find another sweetener for this drink? I just found a bottle, and this drink sounds DIVINE for its inaugural opening!
Kate
Hey Lisa, I’m not quite sure I understand your question. I used plain vodka and honey simple syrup, which is very easy to make! Or if you want to use honey vodka (which I didn’t know existed until right now), you might not need any sweetener! Not sure.
Lisa
Sorry, I didn’t quite say what I meant…oops! I meant to say that I wanted to use the Stoli Honey Vodka (sold under the name Stiki), instead of the vodka and honey simple syrup. I was just scared that it wouldn’t be sweet enough, though…although I just bought the vodka last night and haven’t tried it yet, so I don’t know how sweet it is on its own….but I believe taste testing is in order for the weekend! :)
sallyz
the red slippers were the inspiration for a name: Dorothy’s Delight?
Looks wonderful…love pink and red grapefruit! I never thought of honey simple syrup…so easy! Thanks!
Kate
Oh, I like Dorothy’s Delight! Glad you enjoyed the cocktail!
Mia
Ooo i just found this site in May and im so happy to have your site bookmarked now, everything looks sooo very yummy! This drink is fabulous! I am good at naming things and while you probably already have a name for this since i am so late, i thought i would throw a few out that maybe you could use later. Here are my thoughts:
1. Ruby Red Sipper
2. Rosemary Baby
3. Lovely Couple (Ruby and Herb) :D
Let me know what you think!
★★★★★
Kate
I like all of those ideas! I think number one is my favorite name of the three. It rolls off the tongue nicely.
Tracey
Those glasses though! I instantly googled them to find some.
Alecia
I serendipitously found your website while looking for a grapefruit-based cocktail recipe. I made candied grapefruit peel this morning and have some grapefruit-flavored simple syrup, which I will substitute for the honey simple syrup in your recipe. I may garnish my drinks with a piece of the candied peel and a sprig of Rosemary. Thank you and Stoli for this recipe!
Kate
Can I have one?! Your candied grapefruit and grapefruit simple syrup cocktails sound amazing, Alecia!
Mery
I would call it Ambrosia Revamp. Ambrosia is the Immortal’s food and it should be honey!
Kate
Ohh, nice!
Mary
I just made this last night and it was fabulous. My only substitution is that I used rosemary vodka that I recently infused. So good As far as a name, it’s so similar to a greyhound that I may call it the Rosy Greyhound. :)
Kate
Thanks, Mary! Your rosemary vodka sounds fantastic. Love that name!
Jessie @ Chasing Belle
This looks so festive! I would love to make this for one of our upcoming holiday get togethers. Where did you get those glasses? They are beautiful!
Kate
Hi Jessie! I’m sorry for the delay. They’re vintage. I found them in my parents’ cabinets. Sorry! I think I have seen something similar at West Elm/World Market?
Sarah
I love all the names people have come up with. As for what kind of drink it is, I’d say it is a variation on a classic cosmopolitan.
Try using Saint Germaine (elderberry liqueur)instead of the honey syrup for a different (and delicious) twist!
Kate
Thank you, Sarah! I love St. Germaine. Can’t wait to try your suggestion.
lisa @ garlicandzest.com
I swear this is the first time I’ve seen this. I make that pronouncement because I made something similar several months ago — and it hasn’t found it’s way onto my blog yet. I’m calling mine a Ruby-Thyme Spritzer. Obviously, I used thyme, but my simple syrup used honey instead of sugar too. Great minds or suspiciously similar? Too funny!
Kate
Well, yours sounds great to me! Grapefruit, honey, herbs and booze is a great combo, and I’m sure I’m not the first to think of it. :)
Averie
This cocktail is perfect. Simple to make with easy to find ingredients. It is eloquent and sophisticated in flavour with the perfect hint of honey. Will be making this at our next holiday party. Thank you for sharing.
Kate
Thank you, Averie! I’m glad you appreciate this one. :)
Recipe Guru
Ave, what type of vodka did you use?
★★★
Averie
Grey Goose it’s what I had on hand.
Taylor
Just had two of these! :) So delicious. I squeezed a meyer lemon for each drink and just used a dash of agave instead of making the honey syrup. Wish I bought more than one grapefruit! You could call it a Ruby Rose :)
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Taylor! Now I want one. :) Ruby Rose sounds perfect!!!
Gina
Delish!
★★★★★
Monique
This looks delicious! I have a friend that makes something similar, which I gladly named ‘The Pink Bohemian’ for her.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing!
Ben Otto
Rosemarys Baby???
★★★★★
Diane
Sounds delicious! Did you finally name it? I thought “Ruby Rose” and scrolled down the comments to find one other reader had the same thought!
I’m trying it tonight!
★★★★★
Kate
Let me know what you think, Diane!
Diane
I loved the smidgen of salt and smelling the rosemary with every sip! Divinely delicious! Thank you!!
Kathy Knudson
How about “Cookie Teaser”?
★★★★★
Jonathan Scheuer
Honestly, meh. The salt doesn’t help, and the subtlety of honey is lost in the grapefruit. A rosemary simple syrup and grapefruit juice would go much farther towards a yummy combo on these flavors.
★★★
Kate
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one. I appreciate your review, Jonathan.