Thin Mint Grasshopper Cocktail Recipe

A classic Grasshopper cocktail is traditionally made with just three ingredients, often measured in equal parts: crème de menthe, white crème de cacao, and heavy cream. This layered version from the Butterscotch Den in Sacramento, California, sticks to the old-school flavors and merges some midcentury kitsch with a contemporary, bittersweet update.

The grill-your-own steakhouse and cocktail lounge often features drinks that match their yacht rock soundtrack and vintage aesthetic. For their Grasshopper variation, they’ve dusted off the original recipe and leaned into its dessert-in-a-glass roots, vibrant color, and all.  

“We wanted to stick as close to the original as possible, and that required us to not venture too far beyond the iconic green mint liqueur,” says Butterscotch Den co-owner Trevor Easter. 

Traditional crème de cacao and crème de menthe are used for the signature green hue and mint-chocolate profile, but the standard heavy cream is replaced by a high-quality, locally made vanilla ice cream. Their secret sauce is a splash of Cynar, a bittersweet amaro, added for depth of flavor and a slight herbal bite. 

Garnished with a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie and fresh mint, the cool and creamy drinkable dessert hits all the right notes for the modern drinker — deliciously balanced, nostalgic, and fun.

Why Butterscotch Den’s Thin Mint Grasshopper works

Cynar is a distinctive Italian amaro known for its unusual primary ingredient: the artichoke, from which the liqueur gets its name. The inky, bitter amaro is not the first thing you’d think would go into a sweet and creamy dessert cocktail.

 Easter has an explanation for that. 

“At the Den, we have two sections on our menu, one is ‘Digestifs’ and the other ‘After-Dinner Drinks,’” he says. “We take the post-dinner consumption very seriously, and sell a ton of Italian amaro to be sipped after the meal, and drink-your-dessert-style cocktails. Why not mix the two categories? Not to mention, Cynar loves to be paired with mint.”  

The complex herbal and vegetal profile of Cynar complements the bright, fresh flavors of mint, while its ​​earthy, bitter qualities pair naturally with chocolate notes. And with hints of vanilla in its formulation, the digestif helps to underscore the drink’s ice-cream foundation. 

“This drink absolutely loves the highest quality vanilla ice cream you can find, considering that it’s the base of the drink,” says Easter.  

At the Butterscotch Den, they use locally made Gunther’s Ice Cream, named the best ice cream shop in California in 2021 by Food & Wine. “And it just so happens to be a mile from The Den,” says Easter. “Their vanilla ice cream is world-class, and is perfect for this drink.” 

The softened ice cream aerates as the drink is shaken, yielding a cocktail with a light and silky texture. “We whip it, which means we shake it vigorously with a bit of pebble ice in the tin, and then we pour it all over more pebble,” says Easter. “We really like the texture that bit of aeration gives it.”