Grapefruit offers a tasty and useful mixture of citrus and pepper as cocktail components. The Ruby Red grapefruit variety, first grown in Texas, provides a slight sweetness and lovely blush of color. In the Texas Two Step, the tart and sweet balance weighs nicely against the gin’s juniper flavor to create a deceptively smooth drink.

Texas Two Step
2 ounces dry gin
2 ounces Texas Ruby Red grapefruit juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 red Maraschino cherry (stem on if possible)
Long curl of grapefruit rind

Drop the cherry in a cocktail glass and place in the freezer while making the drink. Combine gin, grapefruit juice and bitters in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake vigorously until well-chilled. Pour into chilled glass and drape in the curled grapefruit rind.

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