Salty B*tch Cocktail: A Sorbet-licious Take on a Salty Dog

By Anna Monette Roberts

I can't remember if I caught wind of this cocktail via Twitter or when I interviewed Jeni Britton Bauer herself, but I knew as soon as her latest cookbook Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Desserts ($24) came out, I had to have one. The blonde and beautiful ice cream maker is sweet as sugar, but she has a tough side and commands respect with her expertise and intense desire to produce perfect pints. That's why it makes so much sense that this cocktail, which she crudely calls the Salty B*tch, would be her favorite.

Her take on the classic salty dog has vodka and a salt-rimmed cup, but the key difference is the scoop of grapefruit sorbet. Stirred into the vodka, it turns everything into an adults-only slushie. It takes the edge right off.

Salty B*tch

YieldMakes 1 drink

From Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Desserts by Jeni Britton Bauer

INGREDIENTS

    • Murray River Sea Salt or Himalayan coarse pink sea salt
    • 1 (4-ounce) scoop grapefruit sorbet
    • 2 ounces (1/4 cup) vodka
    • Sprig of tarragon

    INSTRUCTIONS

    1. Pour a thin layer of the salt onto a small plate. Moisten the rim of a lowball glass and gently dip into the salt to coat. Drop the scoop of sorbet into the glass and pour the vodka over the top. Garnish with the tarragon sprig and serve with a spoon.

    Notes

    A sorbet is the perfect mixer and ice in one — pulverized fruit, juices, and sugar, all frozen together — and a shot of liquor over a scoop of sorbet is all you need for a killer cocktail . . . You can riff on the classic cocktail, and even make it better, as in my rendition of the Salty Dog, which I call the Salty B*tch: it's phenomenal . . . My favorite cocktail of all time. Editor's note: Store the vodka in the freezer overnight to thoroughly chill it. That way, the sorbet doesn't melt as quickly.