I’d love to meet the person whose standard drink order is a Grasshopper.
Not many of us have ordered Grasshoppers in the past 40 years, and it's easy to see why: Traditionally, the drink is equal parts cheap crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and heavy cream — shaken and served in a martini glass — and is precisely the color of milky Astroturf.
But when Jeffrey Morgenthaler puts a Grasshopper on his menu, you pay attention. "I know what you're thinking — overly sweet and yuck," Food52er user hardlikearmour told me. "But trust Jeffrey Morgenthaler in all things cocktail and you won't be disappointed."
His version of the drink is based on the Midwestern style, which blends the unholy trinity with vanilla ice cream. But Morgenthaler takes what would in most other contexts be a painfully sweet and unsightly drink and makes it good. Really, first-sip-makes-you-laugh-it’s-so-good, good.
To tame the inherent richness and sweetness of a cocktail made with sugary liqueurs and ice cream, he brings in a teaspoon of Fernet Branca, a bitter herbal digestif so powerful that bartenders and other industry folk have long seen liking it as a rite of passage (you're in!).
Then he mutes the Fernet with a little sea salt. The balance of crushed ice is important too, to keep the shake thick and frothy, but not heavy. The original Grasshopper was a struggle to get three sips deep; this one will be gone before you know it.
It’s just what you want on a hot night: creamy, sweet, cooling, bitter, and salty — all keeping one another in check — instead of strictly creamy and sweet.
Morgenthaler says the artificially green crème de menthe is essential. As he wrote in Playboy, "Wanting to step away from the brown, bitter, and stirred drinks so prevalent on today's cocktail menus, my team and I started looking into drinks that you might consider — wait for it — fun."
Let’s work on Brandy Alexanders next.
JEFFREY MORGENTHALER’S GRASSHOPPER SHAKE
Adapted slightly from Pepe Le Moko and Portland Monthly Magazine.
Serves 1
1 1/2 oz. green crème de menthe
1 1/2 oz. white crème de cacao
1 oz. half-and-half
1 tsp. Fernet Branca
Pinch of sea salt
4 oz. (1/2 cup) vanilla ice cream
8 oz. (1 cup) crushed ice, prepared with a Lewis bag and mallet, a tea towel and rolling pin, or a food processor
Mint sprig for garnish
Combine all ingredients except the mint sprig in a blender, and blend on high speed until smooth. Serve in a tall, frozen glass, and garnish with a mint sprig.
This article originally appeared on Food52.com: http://food52.com/blog/11055-jeffrey-morgenthaler-s-grasshopper-shake
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