The Bicycle Thief Is a Refreshing Negroni-Like Highball

The Bicycle Thief is a refreshing, bittersweet long drink that combines gin, Campari, fresh grapefruit juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a highball glass, topped with club soda.

Named for the classic 1948 Italian film, the cocktail was created in the mid-2000s as a collaboration between Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin and Abraham Hawkins while tending bar at Dutch Kills in Long Island City, New York.

The drink was featured in the “Highball” section of the 2016 book Regarding Cocktails by Sasha Petraske with Georgette Moger-Petraske. The recipe in the book is accompanied by a note from one of its creators, Gelnaw-Rubin, who instructs the drink to be built directly into the glass. We’ve slightly altered this to include a quick shake of the ingredients before pouring into a highball glass over ice and then topped with club soda. 

What makes the Bicycle Thief cocktail work

Though there isn’t a reference to a Negroni in the book’s notes, there is clear inspiration behind the botanical-forward, bittersweet flavors here. Equal parts gin and Campari are also called for in the Bicycle Thief, while other ingredients work to accentuate their flavors.

A healthy pour of grapefruit juice helps to soften the intensely flavored spirits and lengthens the drink while bringing out Campri’s natural grapefruit notes. A balance of lemon juice and simple syrup adds brightness and complexity, while further easing the tension of the base spirits. A splash of club soda to top the drink lends effervescence and slight dilution to create an especially refreshing warm-weather cocktail, in which the bubbles act as miniature magnifying glasses for the drink’s citrus-forward flavors.