Classic cocktail · Guided recipe
Moonwalk
Start makingCreated at the Savoy to toast the first Moon landing: orange liqueur and grapefruit shaken and topped with champagne.
In the glassGrand Marnier · Grapefruit juice · Champagne
See exact amounts
What goes in
Ingredients
Set up before you pour
Use a coupe glass.
The stem keeps your hand away from a cold drink, while the rounded bowl makes an up serve easy to sip.
- Standard size
- 200 ml6¾ oz
- Ice & serve
- Chill it first; serve without ice.
- If you don’t own one
- Use a small martini glass or stemmed dessert glass.
- cocktail shaker
- strainer (or a small sieve)
- jigger or measuring spoon
- Grand Marnier30 ml
- Champagne60 ml
- Grapefruit juice30 ml
From bottle to glass
Method
- 01
Measure into the shaker Pour 30 ml grand marnier into your shaker
Grand Marnier
- 02
Measure into the shaker Add 30 ml grapefruit juice
Grapefruit juice
- 03
Ice the shaker Fill the shaker with ice
- 04
Seal and shake Seal and shake hard
- 05
Strain cleanly Strain into a chilled glass — no ice
- 06
Top gently Top with 60 ml champagne
Champagne
- 07
Finish the drink Finish it — add an orange twist
Know your drink
About the Moonwalk
Mixed for Apollo 11
Savoy barman Joe Gilmore made a habit of inventing drinks for the news, and in July 1969 the news was Apollo 11. Grand Marnier, grapefruit and champagne, with a few drops of rose water. The story goes that a batch was sent to the crew and was waiting once quarantine ended. Whether the bottle really got that far is the sort of detail nobody wrote down.
Common questions
Moonwalk FAQ
The original had rose water in it. Should I add some?
Two drops, no more, and into the shaker rather than the glass. It gives a faint floral lift that suits grapefruit well. Overshoot by a single drop and the whole thing tastes like hand soap.
Pink grapefruit or white?
White is drier and more bitter, closer to how the drink was built, and it stands up better to the liqueur's sweetness. Pink and ruby juice give you something softer and rounder. Either way, squeeze it yourself, because bottled juice tastes cooked and kills the bubbles.
I overdid the rose water. Can the drink be saved?
Not by dilution — more champagne only gives you more soapy champagne. Mix a second base of Grand Marnier and grapefruit with no rose water in it, then blend the two shakers together a little at a time until the flower drops back to a hint. Costs you one extra measure of liqueur.
Coupe or flute?
A coupe opens up the citrus aroma and loses fizz faster. A flute holds the bubbles and hides the smell. Neither one is wrong. What matters more is that the glass comes out of the freezer, since there's no ice in this to keep it cold.
What ingredients are in a Moonwalk?
A classic Moonwalk calls for 30 ml (1 oz) Grand Marnier, 30 ml (1 oz) Grapefruit juice, 60 ml (2 oz) Champagne. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.
How strong is a Moonwalk?
A standard Moonwalk is roughly 16% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.
Is a Moonwalk shaken or stirred?
A Moonwalk is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.
Sharpen the technique
Skills used in this recipe
Where to go next
