Pink Grapefruit Gin Liqueur – 200ml

Hoos Pink Grapefruit Gin Liqueur in a mini bottle

Hoos Pink Grapefruit Gin Liqueur is a tart, fruity aperitif from Karlsruhe, presented here in a 200 ml bottle. It is crafted from their own London Gin, in which grapefruit peel is steeped before fresh juice is added.

Pink Grapefruit Gin Liqueur is the summery aperitif from Heiko Hoos in Karlsruhe, available here in a small 200-milliliter edition. With 30.5 percent alcohol, it is a gin liqueur, yet remains significantly tarter than most pink bottles on the shelf. If you want to get to know the Karlsruhe-based spirit, this size is a perfect choice.

Tart, juicy, and with an herbal base

The grapefruit contributes both juice and peel, with the peel specifically providing the bitterness that defines this aperitif. Beneath that, the herbs of the London Gin continue to work, primarily juniper and pine sprouts, along with chamomile and lavender. Lemon balm keeps the fruit bright, preventing the profile from becoming heavy. Despite the fruit content, it is not sweet, but rather tastes like a good Italian bitter in the early evening.

Unlike the dry London Gin, this version is finely filtered after maceration, as fresh juice would otherwise leave it cloudy. What remains is a delicate rosé that looks like fruit and tastes of herbs. It is clearest when served cold, so be sure to put the bottle in the fridge before opening.

Small enough for gifting and trying

Two hundred milliliters make about four aperitifs, making the bottle enough for an evening for two or for an initial test. It fits well in the hand as a gift for a summer evening without the commitment of a large bottle. Paired with the London Gin in the same size, it creates a small duo that showcases both sides of the house.

Heiko himself calls it "a perfect aperitif," and served neat over plenty of ice with a slice of grapefruit or orange is indeed the most obvious way to enjoy it. With a tart blood orange soda, it becomes a longer drink; with dry tonic, it becomes even more bitter. Olives and salty pastries bring the bitterness even further to the fore, and if you enjoy the small bottle, the 500 ml edition is ready and waiting.

Two stages in a Karlsruhe distillery

The journey begins with the London Dry Gin, which Heiko Hoos has been distilling since 2014 using fifteen botanicals in batches of no more than 120 bottles. The herbs steep in neutral alcohol for two days, after which everything goes through the copper pot still at a low temperature, followed by a few weeks of rest. Only this finished gin enters the second stage, where grapefruit peel and lemon balm macerate in it, followed by the addition of freshly pressed juice.

To this day, the brand is run by Heiko alone, without investors or a corporation behind it, and he even designed the dark bottle and the curved H himself. Every bottle receives its own number by hand on the label at the end, including the small ones. That the industry agrees is evidenced by the silver medal at the 2015 International Spirits Competition and the Best Innovation Award at the Cocktail Spirits in Paris.

The entire assortment can be found at Hoos, and you can find more small bottles for the "blue hour" on the aperitif shelf. Small volume, big character.