• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Email Series!

5 Time and Stress Saving Cooking Secrets

Free email series of my best tips!

Visit my other Site: Pancake Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Free Email Series!

    5 Time and Stress Saving Cooking Secrets

    Free email series of my best tips!

  • Visit my other Site: Pancake Recipes

Rachel Cooks®

Easy Healthy-ish Recipes

  • Recipe Index
  • Popular
    • Instant Pot Pinto Beans
    • Green Beans with Bacon
    • Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
    • Roasted Sugar Snap Peas
    • Beef Stew Seasoning
    • Chili Seasoning Recipe
    • Thousand Island Dressing
    • Poppy Seed Dressing
    • Copycat Panera Squash Soup
    • Chocolate Chip Blondies
    • Instant Pot Pork Loin Roast
    • Frosé
    • Best Chocolate Cake
    • Dill Vegetable Dip
    • Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
    • Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
  • Learn to Cook
    • All The Basics
    • Crostini
    • Delicata Squash
    • Butternut Squash
    • Kabocha Squash
    • Spaghetti Squash
    • Guacamole
    • Croutons
    • Snap Peas
    • Baked Potatoes
    • Baked Bacon
    • Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
    • Simple Syrup
    • Pickled Red Onions Recipe
    • Toasted Pine Nuts
    • Roasted bone-in Chicken Breasts
    • Poached Chicken
    • Roasted Whole Chicken
    • Easy Cheese Sauce

Dinner Made Easy:

Slow Cooker

5 Ingredients

Grilling

Make Ahead

Sheet Pan

Tacos

Pizza

Home Recipes by Diet Dairy-Free
DF Dairy-Free

Grapefruit and Elderflower Cocktail

4.46
/5
5 mins
2 Comments
Jump to Recipe
By: Rachel GurkPosted: 02/21/2020Updated: 03/23/2023

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Crisp and refreshing, this gin, grapefruit, and elderflower cocktail is an easy one to make and an even easier one to drink! 

Crisp and refreshing, this gin, grapefruit, and elderflower cocktail is an easy one to make and an even easier one to drink! 

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: Simple and refreshing, not too sweet.

How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: optional cocktail shaker
Servings: 1 (but it’s so easy to make more!)

Image of a pale pink cocktail, garnished with a fresh basil leaf. Hendricks Gin and elderflower liqueur are pictured in the background. A curl of grapefruit rind is in the foreground of the photograph.
Table of Contents
open
  • 1 Recipe Overview
  • 2 About This Cocktail
  • 3 FAQs
  • 4 How to make this cocktail your own
  • 5 More great cocktails
  • 6 Get the Recipe: Grapefruit and Elderflower Cocktail

Ben and I recently visited New Orleans. It was the first time for both of us, and honestly we didn’t really know what to expect, but we had such a fun time! We were only there for two nights so it was a bit of a whirlwind, and as you can imagine, most of the trip was centered around food. 

Obviously.

One of the best meals we had was at Gris-Gris, which was recommended by my friend Jenn. We sat at the chef’s table and had such a blast chatting with Chef Eric Cook, a USMC veteran and an amazing chef. Ben bonded with him over sharing stories of their time in the Marines, and I bonded with him over all the extra bites he was bringing us. 

We tend not to repeat restaurants if we travel to the same place more than once (I like to try as many places as possible!), but I think we’d have a really hard time not stopping into Gris-Gris for another meal. Best shrimp and grits ever. 

Image of a pale pink grapefruit cocktail with a half of a grapefruit in the background, also basil leaves are pictured.

About This Cocktail

Another thing I had at Gris-Gris was a cocktail similar to this one. On Chef Eric’s menu, it was called the Gin Brigitte. I later found out that it’s his wife’s favorite cocktail, and it was mine too. 

It’s a relatively simple cocktail consisting of gin, elderflower liqueur (St. Germain), grapefruit juice, and fresh basil.

Refreshing, light, and so flavorful, it may become your favorite, too! And only 151 calories per cocktail!

Is elderflower liqueur new to you? It’s one of my favorites! A very popular brand is St-Germain. It has a lot of natural sweetness so you don’t need to add any extra sweetener to this cocktail. The flavor is a little hard to explain, but it’s slightly floral without being obviously floral. Not overpowering at all, St-Germain just adds that extra little something. Try it and you’ll see!

Look for the printable recipe at the end of this post.

Image of gin cocktail with grapefruit juice and St. Germaine.

FAQs

What’s in a Paloma cocktail?

You’ll find grapefruit juice or grapefruit soda in a Paloma, along with lime juice and tequila. I prefer fresh grapefruit juice so that’s what you’ll find in my Paloma recipe. Make it with a traditional rim of sugar and/or salt or spice it up with a chipotle chili rim.

Can you drink St-Germain straight?

Yes! Enjoy it straight up, on the rocks, or mix it with champagne, white wine, gin, vodka, or whiskey.
It’s also great as a mixer. Try it in a cherry martini with elderflower and lime or a Stardust Dazzler. A hibiscus mimosa can be made with St-Germain, too.

Image of a gin and elderflower cocktail with grapefruit.

How to make this cocktail your own

Obviously, there are a lot of things you can do with this, but here are some of my favorite ideas:

  • If you’re not a gin fan, this drink is great with vodka as well.
  • If you don’t have basil or don’t like basil, try garnishing the cocktail with a sprig of fresh rosemary.
  • I think the elderflower liqueur adds a lot of sweetness, but if you like it a touch sweeter, try adding honey, agave, or simple syrup.
  • Don’t like grapefruit juice? Well, I’m surprised you’re still reading this, but try a cranberry margarita, sparkling pink lemonade, or watermelon mint lemonade.
  • Like sparkle? Try adding a splash of prosecco, champagne, tonic, or soda water to this drink. 
Image of a pink grapefruit cocktail made with gin and elderflower liqueur. The drink is garnished with a fresh basil leaf.

More great cocktails

  • Bay Breeze with cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and vodka
  • Vodka Lemonade
  • Negroni – How to make the best negroni cocktail!
  • Aperol Spritz (how to make the best Aperol spritz!)
  • Cranberry Gin and Tonic with Rosemary
  • Frosé — a slushie with rosé and strawberries
  • Hot White Russian
  • Pomegranate Mojito
  • Pear Hibiscus Cocktail
  • Ginger Cinnamon Apple Cider Mocktail

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Image of gin cocktail with grapefruit juice and St. Germaine.
Recipe

Get the Recipe: Grapefruit and Elderflower Cocktail

4.46 from 11 votes
Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 5 mins
1 drink
Print Rate Recipe
Prevent your screen from going dark
Crisp and refreshing, this gin, grapefruit, and elderflower cocktail is an easy one to make and an even easier one to drink! 

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ ounces gin
  • 1 ounce elderflower liqueur (such as St-Germain)
  • 1 ounce grapefruit juice
  • fresh basil for garnish

Instructions

  • Shake or stir all ingredients.
  • Pour over ice. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh basil.

Notes

  • If you’re not a gin fan, this drink is great with vodka as well.
  • If you don’t have basil or don’t like basil, try garnishing it with a sprig of fresh rosemary.
  • Like sparkle? Try adding a splash of prosecco, champagne, tonic, or soda water to this drink. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cocktail, Calories: 151kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 6mg, Potassium: 228mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 107IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk

Shop this post

Zester with Channel Knife
Stackable Round Molds for Ice
Old Fashioned Glasses
Did You Make This?Be sure to upload a photo & tag me at @RachelCooksBlog. I love seeing what you made!
Share A Photo! Tag on Insta Rate It

 

Free email series

5 Time & Stress Saving Cooking Secrets

Free email series of my best tips!

FREE BONUS!

You May Also Like...

  • Sparkling berry pink lemonade in a mason jar with a red and white straw. Garnished with a strawberry and fresh mint.
    Sparkling Pink Lemonade (with cocktail option!)
  • Overhead view of a pitcher and two glasses of a pink beverage on ice.
    Watermelon Lemonade with Mint (with Cocktail option!)
  • Two apple cider mocktails garnished with round apple slices.
    Apple Cider Mocktail - nonalcoholic drink for fall
  • Front view of short martini glasses containing cherry cocktail, with bottles in background.
    Cherry Martini with Elderflower and Lime
Close up of fish taco in a double corn tortilla.
Previous Post
Easy Fish Tacos Recipe with Blood Orange Salsa
Image of a giant bowl of spaghetti with turkey meatballs.
Next Post
Baked Turkey Meatballs

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




The maximum upload file size: 1 MB. You can upload: image. Drop files here

  1. denise says

    February 21, 2020 at 3:57 pm

    Elderflower seems to be a hot flavor trend at the moment.

    I don’t drink a lot and don’t have a lot of cocktails when I do, but this sounds tasty.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 24, 2020 at 8:59 pm

      It’s such a great addition to cocktails!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Rachel! Life can be complicated, cooking shouldn't be! I believe that you can put a delicious meal on the table without stressing. It's possible, and I'm here to help. Have a seat at my table...let's chat, eat, and have fun! Read more...

Air Fryer Instant Pot 30 Minutes One Pan Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Slow Cooker Vegetarian 5 Ingredients

Trending

Cooked salmon fillet on a grey-toned plate with cooked asparagus spears. The salmon is being flaked with a fork.

Air Fryer Salmon – easy and delicious!

Pizza pasta being scooped from a pan with a wooden spoon.

Pizza Pasta – 1 pan, 20 minutes

Image of a giant bowl of spaghetti with turkey meatballs.

Baked Turkey Meatballs

Asparagus Panzanella Salad

Seasonal

Beef and vegetable stir fry in a black wok.

Beef Stir Fry With Vegetables

Hot honey chicken sheet pan dinner with honey being drizzled on.

Hot Honey Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Sweet and sour shrimp lettuce wrap garnished with green onion.

Sweet and Sour Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

BBQ Chicken burrito bowl with avocado and sour cream.

BBQ Chicken Bowl

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window
Free Bonus!

5 Cooking Secrets to Save Time & Stress

Free email series of my best tips and recipes!

Featured On:

Back to Top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Work with Me
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
© 2023 Rachel Cooks®
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled