When the word "cocktail" is mentioned the Martini, Manhattan, and Old-Fashioned come to mind. So does Art Deco, black tie, and the beginning of the best part of the day—evening.

Personally, I am a fan of the very (very!) dry gin Martini (even better, a Gibson, changing the olive for a pickled onion), or a perfect Manhattan (the vermouth becomes half sweet, the other half dry).

One evening two years ago during a run of drinking Sidecars, I found that the cognac was all gone but still wanted a cocktail, not a glass of wine or beer. So, I foraged through the cupboards and the icebox and came up with the Pink Grapefruit.

It’s not a "girly" drink. This libation has many of the characteristics of a Sidecar, so if you like your cocktails tart and with a kick, give it a try.

The Pink Grapefruit—(serves two)

• 1 jigger freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 jiggers dry vermouth
• 2 jiggers Cointreau
• 8-14 drops of Angostura bitters

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, over plenty of clean, fresh ice. Strain out into two sugar-rimmed* cocktail glasses. If you like, garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

*Dip the rim of each glass in fresh lemon juice (or rub one of the squeezed lemon halves around each rim), and coat generously, from a plate of sugar. You can use regular, fine, or even powdered sugar for this.