Grapefruit Brulee Cocktail

My North-facing apartment doesn't get too much light. It faces the across-the-street row of brownstones, which is fine for spying on neighbors (not that I'd, ahem, ever do that), but the lack of direct light makes me feel as if I live in a casino. A casino with no jackpot, no disco music, no buffet or sequined outfits. (Can you tell I've never been to a casino?)

Anyway. What I'm trying to say that the indirect light makes things kind of gloomy. And that's when I have a grapefruit. Or, more likely, this grapefruit-based cocktail. It's bright, light and altogether summer-y. It has plenty of Vitamin C, and plenty of rum. Which is handy for fighting both scurvy AND gloominess.

This particular cocktail takes its cues from bruleed grapefruit, which is indeed an actual thing. You see, you're supposed to take a fresh grapefruit (as opposed to an old one), halve it, dip it in brown sugar and pass it under your broiler.

Which would be delicious, if I wasn't terrified of using my broiler.

So we'll go with the next best thing, which is convenient but fancy enough to impress others.

Grapefruit Brulee Cocktail
(serves 1)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (or bottled, I won't tell)
1 to 1 1/2 oz dark rum, depending on your day
1/2 oz brown sugar syrup
dash bitters (optional)

*To make the brown sugar syrup, boil equal parts brown sugar and water together until appropriate syrup-y.

Squeeze 1 large grapefruit over a measuring cup topped with a sieve. Pour the filtered juice into a martini shaker filled with ice, then the rum and syrup. Shake until the shaker is frosty; strain into a glass.