Ever stumbled up to the tattooed longhair manning your favorite local scummy dive bar and asked for a Grasshopper? We're not talking about chapulines, but the classic cocktail made with crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and cream (it's pretty damn creamy), and we're willing to bet that you haven't. An old-timey dessert drink that tastes like mint-chip ice cream, the Grasshopper was popular in the 50s and 60s but fell out of favor with Pink Squirrels and its other sweet, milky, pastel-colored contemporaries as cultural tastes shifted.
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But here's why it's falling back into favor, both in Portland—where this version was conceived by Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Pépé Le Moko—and in your kitchen, after you read this.In addition to the fact that—to reiterate—this is a delicious synthesis of mint, chocolate, and booze, this particular Grasshopper is blended with ice cream for an incredibly rich, smooth texture and that lovely waft of vanilla that melds so charmingly with mint. Plus, there's a hit of Fernet Branca and a pinch of sea salt in there to add the most minute suggestion of a savory herbaceousness that really throws this whole thing into the category of oh my god what is this i want to drink this all the time forever.
So make it, and one for your grandma, too. Cheers, Nana.RECIPE: Grasshopper Cocktail