075 – Grasshopper

A 2022 re-discovery of the ‘Grasshopper’ cocktail, created before Prohibition, but at its height in the 1970’s.

What started as my Covid lock-down activity, in the 105-day Sydney second-wave of the Covid-19 Delta-Strain, is now a continuing journey through the cocktail’s of the past. This time, it’s a re-mix exploration of the ‘Grasshopper’.

Make your own ‘mix-at-home’ #Locktail the ‘Grasshopper’ in 4-different variations.

METHOD – (‘Flying Grasshopper‘) Add 30ml White Rum (or Vodka if you prefer), 30ml Crème de Menthe (Green), and 30ml Crème de Cacao (White) into a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake until cold (10 to 15 seconds) and strain into a chilled Martini, Cocktail or Coupe glass. Option to garnish with a mint leaf.

For the ‘White Grasshopper‘ swap the Green Crème de Menthe for White Crème de Menthe. For the ‘Cocalero Hopper‘ swap the Green Crème de Menthe for a combination of 15ml Cocalero and 15ml Midori. For the ‘Matcha Grasshopper‘ swap the Green Crème de Menthe for 30ml Matcha Kahlua (special edition).

HISTORICAL NOTES – This abomination was created by Philibert Guichet Jnr. in around 1918, most likely in his New Orleans restaurant Tujague, which his family purchased from it’s founders Guillaume and Marie Tujague in around 1912. The cocktail won second-prize in a New York Cocktail competition in 1919 on the eve of Prohibition. Unfortunately Prohibition (1920 to 1933) did not kill this drink, as it no doubt did to many better historical cocktail candidates.

The original ‘Grasshopper’ was 30ml Crème de Menthe (Green), 30ml Crème de Cacao (White) and 30ml cream, shaken and served in a cocktail glass. A sweet, mint and chocolate concoction with an ice-cream spider consistency, before ‘spiders’ became a thing in the 1950’s.

Although popular in the restaurant and with some popularity elsewhere, the ‘Grasshopper’ really took off in the late 1960’s to early 1980’s, in the era of super-sweet cocktails with weird and wonderful colours and strange names. Most people relate the cocktail most to the 1970’s when it was at it’s peak. A time when cocktails like the ‘Grasshopper’ almost ended serious cocktail making. When the ‘Grasshopper’ fell back into obscurity, so had cocktails in general.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The ‘Grasshopper’ cocktail appears in the International Bartender Association’s (IBA) ‘Contemporary Classics’ listing, here. The recipe calls for 20ml Crème de Cacao (white), 20ml Crème de Menthe (green) and 20ml of fresh cream. Shaken with ice and strained into a chilled cocktail glass, optional garnish a mint leaf.

TASTING NOTES – The IBA Grasshopper and other variations of the cream-based Grasshopper are, in my humble option, awful – the type of 1960 to 1980 cocktails that almost killed cocktail culture. So bad, that this cocktail stalled my continuation of this website.

Instead, I’ve started with the ‘no cream’ variant, the ‘Flying Grasshopper’, replacing the cream with either Vodka or White Rum. Still more of a mouthwash than a cocktail, it is however a place to start.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – I can’t bring myself to even make the creamy-mess that is the original Grasshopper, so I’m trying some re-mixes starting with the cream swapped-out for white Rum, the ‘Flying Grasshopper’, and going from there. The four-mixes are included above and in the video. My favorite is the ‘Matcha Grasshopper‘, some effort is called for here to get both Matcha Kahlua and White Créme de Cacao, both relatively uncommon ingredients.

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am progressively building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site. I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

This is fifth cocktail from the 1961-1970 bracket of ‘Locktail’ remixes. Full list in the index.