The Salty Dog

Good Evening, Thirsty Readers. I write to you on a gloomy evening. No patio photographs for today's featured libation, I'm sad to say. Tonight, I needed a super easy cocktail because I find myself a bit tired out, in part, because of Tyler Ferguson's AWESOME Tuesday Noon Shockwave Class at the Bloomington Body Bar. It's a 45 minutes, take-no-prisoners class, but Tyler accomplishes the almost impossible.  She makes very strenuous exercise fun.  I felt like a bazillion bucks for most of the day. But now, I'm just tired. In a very good way.  Tyler is my Roller Derby hero, by the way. She has offered to train me for the game and has named me Cranberry Crush, after a drink on this very blog.  Tyler will be a guest blogger in the near future when we showcase her own original recipe for the Hairy Cicada Cocktail. We'll be blogging that piece live from Viewtopia, her outdoor wonderland she sets up at her house for watching The World Cup. 

But, I digress.

Tonight's very simple drink is the Salty Dog. I made one alteration to the classic (and rather boring, albeit refreshing) original recipe; I added some bitters. Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters. Just a dash.  I'm becoming a die-hard bitters convert, thanks to my drink hero, BT Parsons. Bitters add that special something to almost any cocktail. Don't believe me? Try it and  you'll see.

I can mildly recommend this drink for summer. I give it the grade Meh +. The grapefruit juice (always freshly squeezed at Chez BloomingtonGirl) is delightful, but that's about all I can say for this one. The Salty Dog is similar to someone nice but rather dull. It's pleasant to see him or her occasionally, but you don't seek him or her out for snappy repartee. 

The gin I used this evening was a bit insipid - Tanqueray - but I didn't want to waste my precious and delicious Greenhook Ginsmiths Gin in a juicy-juice mixed drink. 

A "nice" drink. Pretty and easy on the tastebuds.

The Salty Dog

2 ounces gin

4 ounces grapefruit juice 

Coarse Salt for the rim

1 dash Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters (optional, but please add some kind of bitters to liven up this party)

Garnish, though truth-be-told, this drink doesn't merit the effort.

Salt the rim by moistening it and then pressing it into a bowl or plate of salt. Add ice. Add gin and grapefruit juice. Mix it up. Garnish if you must. Drink it and say, "Meh. Maybe Meh Plus."

Cheers!