🍃 Grasshopper

Crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and heavy cream — the New Orleans dessert cocktail from 1918.

3 min
Serves 1
Shaken
Coupe
  • 1 oz Green crème de menthe
  • 1 oz White crème de cacao
  • 1 oz Heavy cream
  • Fresh mint sprig to garnish

  1. 1
    Chill your coupePlace a coupe in the freezer.
  2. 2
    Combine in shakerAdd green crème de menthe, white crème de cacao, and heavy cream to a shaker.
  3. 3
    Add ice and shakeFill with ice and shake very hard for 15 seconds. The cream needs to be well incorporated and the drink should be very cold.
  4. 4
    StrainStrain into the chilled coupe. The drink should be bright, vivid green.
  5. 5
    GarnishPlace a small sprig of fresh mint on the foam or rest it on the rim.

The New Orleans Dessert Cocktail

The Grasshopper was created at Tujague's restaurant in New Orleans around 1918 by Philip Guichet. The story goes that he submitted the recipe to a New York cocktail competition and came in second place. Tujague's is one of the oldest restaurants in New Orleans (opened 1856) and the Grasshopper is still on the menu.

The drink fell out of fashion for decades, dismissed as too sweet and 1970s. The craft cocktail revival has been kinder to it — made with quality ingredients and served in a properly chilled glass, it's a genuinely elegant dessert drink. The colour is the other point: that vivid green is entirely natural, from the chlorophyll in the mint of the crème de menthe.

🍫 Frozen Grasshopper

Blend all ingredients with 1 cup of vanilla ice cream instead of shaking with ice. Serve in a rocks glass. One of the world's great dessert drinks when done this way.

🌿 Thin Mint Grasshopper

Add ½ oz coffee liqueur (Kahlúa) and replace crème de cacao with dark chocolate liqueur. Darker, more complex, and evocative of a Thin Mint cookie.

🥛 White Grasshopper

Replace green crème de menthe with white crème de menthe. Same flavour, no colour — a cleaner, more subtle mint character.