Ingredients
2oz Woodford Reserve
1oz Grapefruit Juice
.75oz Honey simple syrup (recipe here)
1 tsp Lemon juice

*Garnish with grapefruit peel

Bourbon, honey simple syrup, grapefruit juice, dash of lemon juice... What else could you possibly need? The Brown Derby is a refreshing classic that was believed to be invented in the 1930s in the southern California bar, Vendôme Club. However, the same recipe also appeared in a British cocktail book in the same year called the De Rigueur! Was this a total coincidence or something malicious? I like to think that this drink was so destined to be created, that it was invented twice.

When trying to gauge what a guest wants to drink, “Refreshing” and/or “Grapefruit” are the easy signs that this will be a winner. If you do not have honey syrup, it is rather easy to make on the fly for a single, or handful of drinks.

Estimate how much honey simple you will need for the night, and shake equal parts honey and hot water in a liquid tight container until fully mixed. For one drink you can shake 1oz hot water and 1oz honey.

Recipe
1. Make your honey simple syrup. Recipe here
2. Juice a fresh grapefruit. 1 grapefruit makes about 3 -4 drinks.
3. Add contents into shaker and shake till frosted.
4. Strain contents into coupe (removing pulp).
5. Express grapefruit peel over the top of the drink.
6. Garnish with grapefruit peel.

Notes
The addition of 1 tsp Lemon juice is not included in the original recipe, but I personally think it is necessary to bring out the “zing” in the citrus.