Brown Derby Cocktail

The Brown Derby cocktail is a simple yet elegant blend of bourbon, grapefruit juice, and rich honey syrup. With just three ingredients, it delivers a perfectly balanced cocktail that’s bright, smooth, and a little bit sweet - proof that classics never go out of style.

Created at the Vendome Club in Los Angeles in the early 1930's, the drink was named after the famous Brown Derby restaurant, known for its brown derby hat-shaped design. The mix of tart grapefruit and warm honey softens the bourbon’s bold flavor, creating a refreshing cocktail that’s just as timeless today as it was nearly a century ago.

The Bee's Knees cocktail and the Gold Rush cocktail are similarly simple cocktails that are sweetened with honey syrup. Both are citrusy and delicious!

Ingredient Notes

This citrusy cocktail recipe uses just three key ingredients, so the quality of each ingredient is very important to the final taste.

• Bourbon - You can use any bourbon whiskey that you like best for this recipe.  Woodford Reserve is my favorite brand.
• Fresh Grapefruit juice - I recommend fresh squeezed grapefruit juice whenever possible, since it will have the freshest flavor.  If you can't find grapefruits, a store-bought juice will work fine but you may want to adjust the amount of honey syrup to your preferred sweetness. 
• Honey syrup - Honey syrup is simple syrup made with honey instead of granulated sugar. Making honey simple syrup is cheaper than buying it from a store and it also allows you to be fully in control of its flavor and what goes into it.  You can also alter the flavor of the syrup with varietal honeys.  For a vegan option, you could use maple syrup in the same measure.

See the recipe card below for ingredient list with measurements.

• Optional garnish - Most versions of a Brown Derby drink will use some form of grapefruit as the garnish -  a grapefruit twist, a slice of grapefruit, a wedge of grapefruit, or dried grapefruit.

How to make a Brown Derby Cocktail

This classic drink only takes a few minutes to prepare.  You will need a cocktail shaker and a strainer.

• STEP ONE: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
• STEP TWO: Combine bourbon, grapefruit juice, and honey syrup in the shaker. Shake until well mixed and chilled, about 30 - 60 seconds.
• STEP THREE: Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Add a twist of grapefruit peel or other preferred garnish and serve immediately.

More bourbon cocktails to try:

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