Recipes

Issue No. 146 —

Basil Smash

Basil Smash 2

The 4th of July is one of my favorite hol­i­days, and I cel­e­brate every year by host­ing a par­ty com­plete with home­brewed shandy and fresh sum­mer cock­tails. Because my gar­den is usu­al­ly over­flow­ing by this time of the year, I like to take advan­tage of that by cre­at­ing cock­tails packed with fresh herbs. This year, I’ll be serv­ing my adap­ta­tion of the Basil Smash.

The Basil Smash was orig­i­nal­ly cre­at­ed by Jörg Mey­er of Le Lion — Bar de Paris in Ham­burg, Ger­many. Accord­ing to Jörg, he loved the whiskey smash­es he drank in New York so much that he came back to Ger­many to cre­ate what would go on to win “Best New Cock­tail” at the 2008 Cock­tails Spir­its Awards. The Basil Smash is refresh­ing, aro­mat­ic, and – per­haps the best part – it’s amaz­ing­ly sim­ple to make. This cock­tail is the per­fect addi­tion to your 4th of July festivities.

 

Recipe

Pick 4–5 basil leaves. Place in your hand and clap your hands togeth­er to wake up the basil. Place into cock­tail shak­er.  Add the gin, lemon juice, sim­ple syrup and ice to your shak­er. Shake well. Dou­ble strain into a collins glass filled with ice. Top with splash of club soda. Gar­nish with a basil leaf.

 

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