The first and only vodka drink on our opening menu at The Violet Hour was intended to be the opposite of what vodka drinkers expected, so it’s pretty and pink and long and bubbly, but also has a decent bitter kick. Surprise! Pink doesn’t always mean sweet as candy and less sophisticated. So many eyebrows raised in alarm upon first sip, then eased into the deliciousness with a satisfied smile (okay, some were quickly sent back, too—it was 2007, after all). For those who want an even more adventurous ride on this train, try the drink made with a big juniper-y gin or a blanco tequila instead of neutral vodka.

　　This recipe was excerpted from 'The Bartender's Manifesto' by Toby Maloney. Buy the full book on Amazon.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 1

　　¼ oz. Campari

　　¾ oz. simple syrup (1:1)

　　1 oz. fresh grapefruit juice

　　¾ oz. lime juice

　　2 oz. vodka

　　Chilled soda water, to bottom

　　Lime wheel, to garnish

　　

Step 1

Into your shaker tin, stack the Campari and simple syrup. Both have sugar, so make sure you don’t overpour either. Donate the grapefruit and lime juices to the shaker and finish with the vodka. 

　　

Step 2

Grab your Collins glass, add a shard of ice plus about 1 oz. of soda (depending on the size of the glass), and set aside. Pop 3 ice cubes into your shaker—a couple fewer than usual because between the ice and the soda, most of your water content is already in the glass—and shake in a quick staccato. Strain into the Collins over the ice shard. Be conscious to aim the stream coming through your Hawthorne strainer directly into the soda at the bottom of the glass, not slowly dribbling down the sides of the ice, so you get complete integration of the two liquids. Garnish with a fresh lime wheel bent to look like a roller coaster.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Bartender’s Manifesto by Toby Maloney, copyright © 2022. Photographs by Zachary James Johnston. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Buy the full book from Penguin Random House or Amazon.