Ingredients
- 2 ounces rye
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
- ½ ounce raspberry simple syrup
- Ice
- Raspberry for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add rye, grapefruit juice, and raspberry simple syrup.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with raspberry.
Variations of the Blinker Cocktail
Easily customize your blinker cocktail for you or anyone lucky enough to enjoy one you've made.
- Instead of raspberry simple syrup, play around by using grenadine or raspberry liqueur.
- Punch up the flavors you find in the rye by making a sweetened homemade raspberry-infused whiskey or a citrussy grapefruit-infused whiskey.
- Freshen up the cocktail by skipping the raspberry simple syrup and instead muddle 4-6 fresh raspberries with just a splash of simple syrup. Skip the sugar entirely and muddle with the rye and grapefruit juice.
- Swap the pink grapefruit juice for a ruby red grapefruit or white grapefruit.
Garnishes
Dress your cocktail up or let the drink do the talking with these garnish suggestions.
- Use a grapefruit wheel, wedge, or slice.
- Finish the drink with a grapefruit peel, or make it even more elegant by rolling up the grapefruit peel and piercing with a cocktail skewer.
- Give it a fun look by using a dehydrated grapefruit wheel or another citrus wheel such as an orange, lemon, or lime.
- Layer the garnishes by using a few together, such as a raspberry with a grapefruit wheel or piercing a grapefruit peel with a cocktail skewer, alternating the peel with fresh raspberries.
The History of the Blinker Cocktail
Fairly unknown, the blinker cocktail is one that you may have flirted with in the past. It's something close to a whiskey sour, yet not quite, but also similar to the Boston-original, Ward 8. While younger than both of those cocktails, it's a cocktail that history traces back to the nearly 1900s when Patrick Gavin Duffy's The Official Mixer's Manual published the recipe. However, today's blinker looks a little different as Duffy calls for grenadine rather than a syrup, while yet another recipe uses raspberries with simple syrup for that plummy flavor.
A Rye Cocktail for Summer
Too often, rye is thought of as a winter liquor when it actually makes for a fantastic summer spirit. The blinker cocktail answers the rye lover's qualm when the sun is shining, and they want something bold yet crisp. Now, isn't that easy summertime living?
