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Salty Dog - A Family Feast

Salty Dog

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Salty Dog - A delicious cocktail made with grapefruit juice, vodka or gin, and served is a salted-rimmed glass.

I’ve officially declared the Salty Dog as my official summer cocktail!  It’s a simple mix of grapefruit juice and vodka (or gin), served in a glass with a salted rim – and it’s my new favorite, summertime drink!

I had my first Salty Dog last month while dining out with some neighbors at The Chart Room, located on Cape Cod in Cataumet, Massachusetts. It was the first warm weekend of the summer, and this restaurant – a favorite of both locals and tourists – is a great place to take in some gorgeous sunsets overlooking Red Brook Harbor, and a great place to enjoy some delicious, fresh seafood and cocktails on the patio.

Salty Dog - A delicious cocktail made with grapefruit juice, vodka or gin, and served is a salted-rimmed glass.

For some reason, that night I decided to stray away from my usual glass of wine at dinner and instead, I ordered a Salty Dog. I loved the salty-sweet-tart flavor combination! And while the version I drank that night used the common, yellow grapefruit juice – we decided to change up our homemade version by using the sweeter Ruby Red grapefruits instead!

If you know your cocktails, a Salty Dog is actually a variation of a “Greyhound” cocktail, just with a salted rim – and that’s how the Salty Dog got its name! The traditional proportions for this cocktail are 2 parts vodka or gin, to 3 parts grapefruit juice – which I will warn you – does make a fairly strong drink!  Feel free to increase the grapefruit juice if (like me) you prefer a less ‘stiff’ drink. 😉 Cheers!

We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!

recipe
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 4 reviews

Salty Dog

Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
Prep: 5 minsTotal: 5 mins
Pin for Later Rate Recipe Print
Scale:

Ingredients

  • Coarse kosher salt
  • Ice cubes
  • 2 parts vodka (or gin)
  • 3 parts freshly squeeze ruby red grapefruit juice
  • Slices of grapefruit, cut into quarters for garnish

Instructions

  1. Pour kosher salt onto a small, flat plate. Wet the rims of a highball glass (we use edge of the slices of grapefruit that we cut for garnishing), then gently dip the rim of the glass in the plate of salt – spinning slightly to coat the rim with salt.
  2. Carefully fill the glass with ice cubes – being careful not to knock the salt off the rim of the glass.
  3. Pour 2 parts vodka and 3 parts grapefruit juice over the ice. Stir gently to combine and serve.

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Cuisine: American Method: stir

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Salty Dog - A delicious cocktail made with grapefruit juice, vodka or gin, and served is a salted-rimmed glass.

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Martha

Martha is part of the husband-wife team that creates A Family Feast. She loves to cook and entertain for family and friends, and she believes that serving a great meal is one of the best ways to show someone that you care. Martha is a self-taught home cook, who loves to read cookbooks and try new recipes. After a decades-long career in business and online marketing, she now runs A Family Feast full-time. Her specialties are baking, desserts, vegetables and pasta dishes.

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Updated: 1/22/23

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  1. Andrea says

    Posted on 9/12/21 at 8:27 am

    Made them last night! My sister and I both loved them, but both agreed they needed either a bit of simple syrup, or sweetened grapefruit juice.
    Really good though, will def make them again!

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 9/12/21 at 9:39 am

      Thanks for the feedback Andrea – I suppose the sweetness level all depends on the grapefruits you buy…but sure, you can sweeten this drink if you’d prefer!

      Reply
  2. Karen says

    Posted on 9/4/18 at 11:25 am

    My favorite, but what’s even better is a salty chihuahua on less formal occasions!

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 9/4/18 at 12:29 pm

      Oh yes – another great cocktail! Thanks Karen!

      Reply
  3. Paula says

    Posted on 7/29/18 at 3:07 pm

    This is my favorite drink! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 7/29/18 at 5:32 pm

      You’re welcome Paula! Cheers! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jordyn Galan says

    Posted on 8/6/17 at 3:32 pm

    This is one of my favorite cocktails! I should make these tonight!

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 8/6/17 at 4:51 pm

      I think that’s a great idea Jordyn! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Milissa says

    Posted on 4/25/17 at 10:16 am

    I LOVE Salty Dogs!! They make for a great summer cocktail! I also enjoy tequila, so I substitute it for the vodka, and then you have, a Salty Chihuahua!!

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 4/25/17 at 11:47 am

      Sounds delicious Milissa!

      Reply
  6. Anna@Consumerion says

    Posted on 1/25/17 at 8:34 am

    Hi Martha,

    I love grapefruit!!!. I love the balance of sweet, sour and bitter. I also love this post. This would be the perfect drink to sip on while enjoying a great book. Do you have any more cocktail recipe that have grapefruit?

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 1/25/17 at 4:53 pm

      Sorry Anna – Just this recipe!

      Reply
  7. Cindy says

    Posted on 6/27/16 at 10:14 am

    I would love to anything with grapefruit juice in it but am not supposed to drink grapefruit juice when taking cholesterol meds. Also, people that take blood pressure meds are not supposed to have it either.

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:13 pm

      Thanks for sharing Cindy!

      Reply
    • Charlene says

      Posted on 8/2/17 at 10:16 am

      My Doctor told me to just don’t take the cholesterol pill that (one) day. So you CAN enjoy that drink once in a while.

      Reply

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