The Gamberi Cocktail combines two of my favorite things: Campari and grapefruit. I have written about it before, in the Run with Me Cocktail.  Seriously, grapefruit and Campari are made for one another. Something about the bitter and sour makes the two seem to compete, yet they play so nicely together.

For this one, I used mint syrup, because the Plant It Forward guys gave us some fresh mint in our farm share, and I needed something to do with it. After all, I already have a whole bunch of fresh mint in my garden, so I didn’t need it. But put in a few cups of simple syrup, and you have liquid gold.

And mint works nicely with the Campari and grapefruit, too.

To make a Gamberi cocktail, combine in a highball glass:

• 1 1/2 oz Smith and Cross Jamaican rum
• 1 1/2 oz grapefruit juice
• 3/4 oz mint syrup
• 1/4 oz Campari

and add a large ice cube. Or just a bunch of ice. Hell, it’s even good with crushed ice. It makes it a bit more like a tiki drink with crushed ice, anyway.

That’s what it tastes like: tiki. Sweet and sour, but with bitterness and complexity. Not like a traditional sour. And the grapefruit is not the star here. Really, it’s the rum, accented by the Campari and the mint.

I plan on making these all summer. After all, it’s already hit Houston. Yet the last time I blogged, I had just driven through snow. How things change.

But Campari and grapefruit? Timeless.