Hair of the Dog: How to Make The Greyhound

Our resident drinks guru, Eric Twardzik, makes the case for a simple and classic Bloody Mary alternative.

Illustration by John Molesworth.

Everyone wants to love the Bloody Mary. Between its alleged connections to the Lost Generation writers and use of Worcestershire sauce, the hangover cure is steeped in machismo. But the truth is that when feeling a little green around the gills, the last thing you may want to imbibe is steak sauce. 

Enter the Greyhound. In style for well over a century, this a.m.-approved refresher is as simple as they come: two-parts freshly squeezed grapefruit juice to one-part gin. Recent decades have seen vodka usurp the latter ingredient’s role, but we stand by gin, preferably a good London Dry with enough juniper character to hold its own against the sharp tartness of grapefruit. 

Of course, it doesn’t have to be that simple. No less a drinking (and morning-after) authority as Kingsley Amis professed his admiration for a close cousin called the Salty Dog in his classic work Everyday Drinking. This variant, which Amis notes as being “splendid out of doors,” differs only in that it has a salted rim, which presents a nice contrast to the brightness of juice. 

Though the Greyhound pulls effective hair-of-the-dog duty, it’s also splendid on balmy spring afternoons or summer evenings. In fact, those latter two scenarios may be how it’s best enjoyed, so long as you pace yourself accordingly. After all, the best way to cure a hangover is to avoid it in the first place. 

Greyhound/Salty Dog

60 ml gin 

120 ml fresh grapefruit juice 

Salt for rim (optional)

Pour gin and juice into a glass and stir for 10 seconds. If desired, garnish the glass beforehand by wetting its rim with the juiced grapefruit and dipping it into a saucer filled with salt.