Pink Grapefruit Vodka Cocktail with Rosemary

Pink grapefruit vodka cocktail is light and refreshing, with subtle herby flavor from woodsy rosemary. It's the perfect winter cocktail!

This festive and easy grapefruit vodka cocktail is perfect for citrus season when you need to get through the long dark days of winter. However, no one will mind if you serve it during the warm winter months as well. You really can't go wrong when it comes to grapefruit juice and vodka!

I love a light and refreshing cocktail anytime of the year, but by adding fresh rosemary and sparkling water, we elevate it to something much more beautiful and fun. It's like a Greyhound, but more sophisticated.

Jump to:

• ⭐️ Why This Recipe Works
• 🍋 Ingredient Notes
• 📝 Variations & Substitutions
• 🥄 How To Make It
• 🍝 What To Serve With Your Cocktail
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Expert Tips
• 💬 Frequently Asked Questions
• 🍷 Related Recipes
• 📖 Pink Grapefruit Vodka Cocktail with Rosemary

⭐️ Why This Recipe Works

• Sweet, tart, and savory. Grapefruit juice adds a tart-sweet-bitter flavor, sparkling water provides bubbles to almost turn it into a spritzer, and rosemary sprigs add a subtle herbyness that complements the grapefruit juice. Because we don't muddle the rosemary into our cocktail, but instead use it as a garnish, it becomes a subtle background note.
• Quick and easy. No fancy equipment is needed, and just a few simple ingredients can create the perfect winter cocktail for brunch, happy hour or a festive gathering.
• Sophisticated, fun, & refreshing
• No added sugar. I skip the simple syrup here in an effort to make this light and refreshing. For more refreshing beverages, try cucumber lemon ginger water and oat milk smoothie!

🍋 Ingredient Notes

• Vodka - I prefer Absolut Vodka, but any brand of vodka will do. Smirnoff and Tito's are both quality, affordable brands.
• Grapefruit juice - If you live somewhere where grapefruit is plentiful and/or cheap, using fresh juice makes a difference since we are only using a few simple ingredients. But, store-bought juice will work just fine!
• Sparkling water - I used lemon-flavored sparkling water. You could also use grapefruit-flavored sparkling water, or just regular sparkling water as well.
• Rosemary sprigs - I have a rosemary plant in my backyard so I snipped a few sprigs from that, but you can find fresh rosemary easily at your local market (or farmers market). If you're a rosemary fan, check out chocolate pecan bark with rosemary, sourdough discard focaccia with rosemary, and rosemary lemon shortbread cookies.

📝 Variations & Substitutions

• Substitute your favorite herb. I love rosemary, and because of its piney and woodsy flavor, it pairs really well with citrus. But, herbs like mint or basil would be delicious as a substitute.
• Switch up your booze. Gin and tequila both pair well with grapefruit juice and would be delicious here.
• Make it sweeter. I purposely left out simple syrup in this recipe, as the grapefruit juice is sweet. However, if you prefer a sweeter cocktail, add a teaspoon of maple syrup or see my list of maple syrup substitutes.
• Make a mocktail: Leave out the vodka altogether, and enjoy a virgin spritzer!

🥄 How To Make It

*See the recipe card below for printable instructions.

Pour vodka and grapefruit juice into a container with lid. Shake vigorously for about 10 seconds.

Pour into glasses and add sparkling water and rosemary sprigs. If using grapefruit slices as garnish, add to glass rims.

🍝 What To Serve With Your Cocktail

Because of the seasonal winter produce used in this recipe, grapefruit vodka cocktail pairs well with other winter gems like fennel, greens, citrus, and root vegetables.

• Serve it with citrus fennel salad, alison roman's caramelized shallot pasta with greens, or creamy roasted cauliflower soup.
• For snack ideas, serve it with chocolate covered pecans, smoked paprika hummus, or spiced candied nuts.

👩🏼‍🍳 Expert Tips

• Muddle your rosemary. If you want a stronger rosemary flavor and have a muddler on hand, you could muddle the rosemary and add to your grapefruit juice/vodka mixture before shaking to combine.
• Use high-quality vodka. Since it's just a few simple ingredients, we want to use a high-quality vodka.
• Use fresh-squeezed juice. Using fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice will make all the difference in this cocktail, lending a more vibrant flavor than store-bought juice.

💬 Frequently Asked Questions

🍷 Related Recipes

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