Greyhound
Vodka and grapefruit juice — first appearing in a 1930 Harper's Magazine piece, Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book documenting the gin version the same year.
- 1Add fresh grapefruit juice and stir gently.
- 2Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
- 3Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
- 4Pour vodka over the ice.
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The Greyhound's first documented appearance in print references the drink being served at a Greyhound Bus terminal restaurant in a 1930 Harper's Magazine article, though the connection between the bus company and the cocktail name is uncertain. The original version called for gin and grapefruit juice — a clean, bitter pairing with no added sweetener — and a gin-grapefruit combination appeared in Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. The vodka version became the American standard during the 1950s and 1960s as vodka displaced gin in casual two-ingredient cocktail templates. Grapefruit's natural bitterness requires no additional sweetener, giving the Greyhound an unusually dry, austere character relative to most fruit-juice cocktails of the era. The Salty Dog, a Greyhound served in a glass with a salted rim, is the most popular variation.
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