Grasshopper
The Grasshopper is a classic after-dinner cocktail that is reminiscent of a delicious (albeit boozy) mint-chocolate milkshake. Inspired by Dale DeGroff’s reimagining of the cocktail, I prefer equal parts crème de menthe and crème de cacao with a greater emphasis on the heavy cream. Beyond flavor, the color variants of the liqueurs can create a spectacular visual depending on your choice. In the case of the Grasshopper, green crème de menthe is almost preferred over the colorless, however, you can achieve the same visual impact with a drop of food coloring. Similarly, crème de cacao comes in both dark and white variants. The flavor is often indistinguishable because coloring is added after the fact, however, higher quality crème de cacao has a naturally acquired brownish color — given the choice, I would recommend opting for a higher quality brand such as Tempus Fugit as it is far more versatile. To properly incorporate the heavy cream (and food coloring), you will want to shake it all together before straining it into a chilled coupe cocktail glass. As far as garnish is concerned, it is quite common to see a sprig or leaf of mint, but a dusting of dark chocolate across the top is quite nice too. But don’t take my word for it, make one and try it yourself!
Grasshopper
In your shaker, combine the crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and heavy cream.
1 oz of Crème De Menthe
1 oz of Crème De Cacao
2 oz of Heavy Cream
Add ice to your shaker and shake until it develops a frost. Double-strain contents (by pouring the contents from the shaker through a fine mesh strainer) into your chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a mint leaf and freshly grated dark chocolate.
TIP(S):
Give it a little color — if using white crème de menthe, to give your Grasshopper a light-green color, add one drop of green food coloring into your shaking tin before shaking.
