High Five
A fresh, bittersweet drink of gin, Aperol and grapefruit, sharpened with lime and rounded with syrup.
Ingredients
- Gin, a London Dry for sharp juniper, ideally45 ml
- Aperol15 ml
- Grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed, pink grapefruit by preference30 ml
- Lime juice, freshly squeezed15 ml
- Simple syrup (1 part Sugar, 1 part Water)15 ml
- Lime, to garnish (optional)1 wheel
Method
- Fill a shaker with plenty of ice.
- Add the gin, Aperol, grapefruit juice, lime juice and simple syrup.
- Shake hard for 10–15 seconds, until the shaker is frosty on the outside.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass.
- Garnish with a lime wheel, if you like, and serve.
Credit Alex Day, Death & Co
About this drink
The High Five was created by Alex Day in 2010; he worked on versions at Death & Co in New York and finalised it at The Varnish in Los Angeles. It is essentially a Hemingway Daiquiri reworked, with gin in place of rum and Aperol in place of maraschino, doubling down on grapefruit's bittersweet brightness. The name came from a server who was so taken with the first taste that she reached across the bar to give Day a high five.
Questions and answers
What kind of drink is a High Five?
A modern gin sour with Aperol's bitter orange sweetness and fresh grapefruit: think of it as a slightly more complex relative of the Paloma, with gin instead of tequila.
What happens if you use Campari instead of Aperol in a High Five?
It works, but the drink becomes markedly more bitter and less sweet. Start with a little less than the recipe's amount and taste your way forward.
