The George

My signature cocktail for Easter brunch came together at the last minute. I had a dozen grapefruits that had been sitting on my counter for a week or more when I noticed that they were getting soft on the Thursday before Easter. I juiced them out and put the juice in the fridge, knowing that I’d somehow use it for an Easter cocktail.

I had forgotten I had the juice until about an hour before brunch began. So I searched the web for a grapefruit juice cocktail recipe. One of the first I saw was called a Danny Ocean. George Clooney? Ocean’s Eleven? Count me in!

The recipe called for a specific brand of tequila, Casamigos. I didn’t care about that, I knew I had a big bottle of Costco’s Kirkland brand of tequila, so I was good to go. The original recipe for the Danny Ocean called for grapefruit juice, lemon juice, agave nectar, maraschino liqueur, and Reposado tequila. I only had Añejo and Blanco tequilas, this would have to do.

Blanco is the lightest of the three in color (clear) and flavor. Reposado is a golden honey color that has aged longer and is richer and more complex than Blanco. Añejo is a rich caramel color, aged even longer, and is the most complex of the three. I decided to go with the Blanco. I grabbed the smaller of the two bottles I had, put it on the kitchen counter, and low and behold it was the Casamigos brand! Casamigos is Rande Gerber (Cindy Crawford’s husband) and George Clooney’s tequila. I had no idea I had a bottle of it. I know that I didn’t buy it so it must have been a hostess gift. Thank you, friend, whoever you are.

Since I wasn’t using the richer Reposado tequila, I decided to use all grapefruit juice and omit the lemon juice. I switched the sweeter agave nectar out and used simple syrup instead. And since I didn’t even know there was such a thing as maraschino liqueur, I used the syrup from amarena cherries.

If you’ve never had an amarena cherry, you must order a jar as soon as possible. You will never eat a maraschino cherry again… well maybe in a Shirley Temple, but that is all they are good for! Amarena cherries are a dark wild cherry from Italy and the syrup they are packed in is divine, drizzle it over ice cream and thank me later. Plus they come in the most beautiful little decorative jars.

Trader Joe’s sold them for a while, although I don’t think they are on the shelves now. You can find them HERE.

Since I changed just about every aspect of the recipe for the original Danny Ocean cocktail, I’ve named my cocktail “The George” Enjoy!

The George Tequila Cocktail

• 3 ounces Blanco tequila
• 3 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
• 1-ounce simple syrup
• 1/2 ounce amarena cherry syrup
• 2 amarena cherries with stems, for garnish

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and then strain into two martini glasses filled with ice. Garnish each with an amerena cherry.

Makes 2