French Blonde Cocktail
The French Blonde has surged in popularity since Taylor Swift called it her favorite cocktail — but that's not why you should make it. It's a lovely, beautifully-balanced, and versatile drink.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces (60 ml) freshly squeezed pink or red grapefruit juice
- 2 ounces (60 ml) Lilet Blanc
- 1 ounce (30 ml) London dry gin
- ½ ounce (15 ml) elderflower liqueur (such as St-Germain)
- ½ ounce (15 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice plus 1 inch lemon peel OR 3 dashes lemon bitters
- Long grapefruit twist to garnish
Instructions
- Using a vegetable peeler, remove a long strip of peel from the grapefruit.
- Cut the grapefruit in half and juice it. (You will probably only need to juice half to make one drink.)
- Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice.
- Strain in the grapefruit juice.
- Pour in the Lilet Blanc, gin, and elderflower liqueur.
- Strain in the lemon juice and add the peel, or dash in the bitters.
- Shake until very cold, then strain into a coupe or Nick and Nora glass.
- Thread the grapefruit peel onto a cocktail pick, garnish the drink, and serve.
Notes
- If you like, you can batch this cocktail for a party. Follow these steps to make eight drinks. Up to three hours before serving time, stir together in a pitcher: two cups strained freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, two cups Lilet Blanc, one cup gin, 1/2 cup elderflower liqueur, 1/2 cup cold water, and 1/2 cup strained freshly squeezed lemon juice plus eight strips of lemon zest OR 24 dashes lemon bitters. Cover and refrigerate until serving time, then pour into garnished glasses to serve.
- Not a gin fan? This cocktail would also work beautifully with vodka. No other changes required.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 4mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g