The Bitter Garden

Grapefruit gets pigeonholed as the brunch juice or diet breakfast fruit, but it has so much more to offer when you let its bitter, botanical side shine. The Bitter Garden treats grapefruit like the complex ingredient it actually is, pairing it with gin's herbaceous backbone and elderflower's delicate floral notes. This isn't one of those sweet citrus bombs. With just three-quarters of an ounce of fresh grapefruit juice, the drink stays firmly in martini territory, spirit-forward and refined. The elderflower liqueur adds a whisper of sweetness without tipping into dessert, while dry vermouth brings its savory, herbal edge to round everything out. A couple dashes of grapefruit bitters amplify that signature bitter-tart finish that makes grapefruit so compelling. Mix this up when you want something to ease into slowly, ideally before dinner when your palate is fresh. It's the kind of drink that rewards attention, each sip revealing a little more of what grapefruit can do when it's not drowning in sugar.