Basil Gin Smash

July 09, 2020

If you’re a frequent farmers market shopper or someone who likes to and has a garden, then it’s a good time of year to start playing with basil. It’s an extremely abundant plant and can easily overwhelm the homegardener. After all, you can only eat so much pesto. We’ve made a nice little drink here that really showcases basil. Aromatic and smooth, with a nice lemony zing. A great drink for sitting on the porch or backyard to cool down after a long day.

With relatively straight forward ingredients this drink is simple to whip up and sure to please. While we aim to keep the sugar content in our cocktails as low as possible we found that this one really benefited from some additional sweetness. If you want to make simple syrup of your own but don’t know how, check out this link. It’s really easy to do, but is by no means necessary for this drink. Simple syrup is used in a huge, huge, huge, number of cocktails, it’s one of those simple ingredients that is nice to have around. Feel free to use a cleaner sugar such as coconut sugar or maple syrup, but I have to warn that (maple especially) they will drastically alter the flavor of the drink. Not always a bad thing, but I want you to be prepared. If you don’t want to make simple syrup then you can use whole sugar and shake it into the Shrubbie.

RECIPE
Basil Gin Smash

Ready in 3 minutes

Serves 1 drink

Ingredients

2 oz Gin
10-12 Leaves of Basil
½ - ¾ oz Lemon Juice(more you have the more tart Shrubbie will be.)
½ oz Lemon Ginger Shrub
A splash of simple syrup or 1 tsp sugar(this is the ratio we liked, but you can add to taste)

Preparation

Muddle basil leaves in shaker with muddler or wooden spoon.
Add gin, lemon juice, Lemon Ginger Shrub, and sugar/simple syrup.
Add ice and shake until chilled.
Double strain or strain through a fine mesh strainer into a coupe or desired cup.
Optional basil leaf garnish
Enjoy!

Tips

Muddling is how you help express the flavors and oils from the herbs. You don’t want to crush basil into a brown paste, just bruise leaves slightly.

Double straining helps ease the pour of Shrubbie into glass by holding back the ice before the fine mesh strainer. You don’t need to double it but it does make pouring faster and more convenient.

Simple syrup will blend with the drink better, but you can get away with shaking white or brown sugar into the cocktail. Not all of it will dissolve immediately so Shrubbie will get sweeter as you drink!

Play with the ratios of lemon juice and sugar until you get your preferred Shrubbie, we always lean towards the lower sugar content options.