Gustings’ Grasshopper
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 17.7% ABV ∙
Gustings’ Grasshopper is an equal-parts riff on the Grasshopper, shaking cognac with green crème de menthe, white crème de cacao and cream into a chilled coupe. Cool mint hits first, chocolate rounds out the middle, and a silky cream body carries a warm brandy note into a soft, dessert-like finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Cognac 25 mlCrème de Menthe green 25 mlWhite Crème de Cacao 25 mlSingle cream/half-and-half 25 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with a mint leaf
Tips
- Shake hard and long enough to fully emulsify the cream — a short shake leaves it thin and separated.
- Fine-strain to catch any ice shards, since the cream build otherwise turns slushy in the glass.
- Pre-chill the coupe before straining; the drink has no ice in the glass to keep it cold on its own.
- Measure the crème de menthe and crème de cacao precisely — both are sweet and can easily overpower the cognac at this equal-parts ratio.
History
Gustings' Grasshopper is the personal recipe of Paul Gustings, a longtime New Orleans bartender at Tujague's, the French Quarter restaurant and bar credited as the birthplace of the Grasshopper. Gustings' version, built with brandy alongside crème de cacao and crème de menthe, became renowned among bartenders as an especially rich, indulgent take on the house classic.
The Grasshopper itself is generally traced to Tujague's, where proprietor Philip Guichet is said to have created it in 1918, reportedly for a cocktail competition, though the exact date and circumstances are not fully settled among historians. Gustings' rendition, built up over his decades tending the Tujague's bar, layers in extra brandy and a mix of white and dark crème de cacao for a heavier, more decadent version of that original.
