Grasshopper
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 11.3% ABV ∙
The Grasshopper is an IBA dessert cocktail of equal parts white crème de cacao, green crème de menthe, and cream, shaken and served up.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: White Crème de Cacao 30 mlCrème de Menthe green 30 mlSingle cream/half-and-half 30 ml
- Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
- Garnish with a mint leaf (opt.)
Tips
- Shake hard and long so the cream whips into the drink; cut it short and it comes out thin and separated.
- Use cold cream or half-and-half straight from the fridge so the drink stays chilled and silky.
History
The Grasshopper traces to Tujague's, a French Quarter restaurant and bar in New Orleans, whose owner Philip Guichet is said to have invented the drink in 1918 (some tellings say 1919) for a cocktail competition in New York. It is said to have taken second place there before becoming a fixture back at his own bar. The story is more contested than the bar's own telling suggests, however. A nearly identical drink of crème de menthe and crème de cacao, layered pousse-café style, had already appeared a decade earlier in William "Cocktail" Boothby's 1908 book The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them. An even earlier "grasshopper cocktail" turns up in an 1874 Nebraska newspaper, though without any recipe attached. No evidence has surfaced confirming that the then-21-year-old Guichet ever actually traveled to New York for the competition at all. What Tujague's version does appear to have introduced is the fuller, richer build — brandy and cream added to the earlier two-ingredient formula, shaken instead of layered.
The drink spread widely through the American South during the 1950s and 1960s, becoming a fixture of supper clubs and dinner parties well beyond New Orleans. The International Bartenders Association lists it among its Contemporary Classics without brandy, as crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and cream.
FAQ
How do you make a homemade Grasshopper?
Shake white crème de cacao, green crème de menthe, and cream hard with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and add a mint leaf if you like.
What ingredients do you need for a Grasshopper?
Three, in equal measure: white crème de cacao, green crème de menthe, and cream (or half-and-half), 30 ml each. A mint leaf on top is optional.
Is a Grasshopper shaken or stirred?
Shaken. The cream needs a hard shake to blend with the liqueurs into a smooth, frothy texture.
How strong is a Grasshopper?
Not very. At about 11.3% ABV it is one of the lighter IBA cocktails. It is two liqueurs and cream with no base spirit, so it drinks more like a dessert than a strong cocktail.
