The Greyhound is a classic, and particularly popular at bus terminals.
Oh wait, we’re talking about the cocktail!
The Greyhound is a classic cocktail, traditionally made with just two ingredients: Grapefruit juice and gin or vodka, though it was originally made with gin, and not until after WWII did vodka became more commonly used.
The recipe first showed up in a cookbook by Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book published in 1930 by the legendary London hotel, The Savoy.
Photo by Ambrust and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Harry was a celebrity bartender of the 1920s and 1930, a native Brit who immigrated to the US at the turn of the century for better opportunities. Harry bartended at several famous drinking establishments, but when prohibition hit, he saw little future for a bartender when the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages was banned.
Harry packed his bags and went home.
Harry eventually joined the staff of the Savoy Hotel and found “home” in its “American Bar,” a term used in London to indicate the sale of American cocktails. In fact, the Savoy’s American Bar was one of the earliest establishments to introduce American-style cocktails to Europe. There, Harry created several concoctions including the Corpse Reviver, White Lady, and the Greyhound.
It wasn’t officially called the Greyhound, however, until 1945. The name showed up in print in Harper’s Magazine which explained that the drink was served at Greyhound’s popular restaurant chain, the ‘Post House’ located at bus terminals.
The original recipe called for two ounces of vodka or gin, and four ounces of grapefruit juice (either pink or ruby red). Mixed and pour over ice, lemon or lime twists were optional. Over time, variations popped up including the “Gin Greyhound” (using gin instead of vodka), the “Dalmatian” (which included black pepper syrup), and the Salty Dog, so named because the rim of the glass has been salted. And if you ever wonder why anyone thought to salt the rim of a glass containing a cocktail, it’s because the quality of alcoholic beverages during and just after prohibition was pretty poor. People came to rather like it, and it has endured to this day.
Image: Greyhound photo shared and licensed under the Unsplash+ License