Drinks
The Basil Gimlet
Gin, lime, and an aggressive amount of basil. The one I make when there are more than four people in the apartment.
Prep
5 min
Cook
0 min
Serves
1
Level
Easy
Ingredients
For the drink
60ml — gin (something juniper-forward)
25ml — lime juice, fresh (bottled will not do)
20ml — simple syrup
8 — basil leaves, plus one for the top
ice
For the simple syrup
100g — caster sugar
100ml — water
This started as a way to use up basil that was about to go over and became the thing people ask for by name. It takes ninety seconds and looks like it took longer.
The trick is bruising the basil rather than shredding it. Torn leaves go brown and bitter in the shaker; a firm press releases the oil and nothing else.
Method
Make the syrup first: equal weights sugar and water, warmed until the sugar dissolves, then cooled completely. It keeps a month in the fridge.
Put the basil in the shaker and press it gently against the side with a spoon four or five times. You want it bruised, not torn.
Add the gin, lime, syrup and a lot of ice. Shake hard for twelve seconds — properly hard, until the tin is painful to hold.
Double strain into a chilled coupe so no leaf fragments come through.
Float one clean basil leaf on top. Do not garnish with a whole sprig unless you enjoy being hit in the face while drinking.
A note
Batch it for a crowd at four parts gin, two parts lime, one and a half parts syrup, and shake to order. Never batch with the basil in it.
Good to know
More About This Recipe
Nutrition
Calories
180 kcal
Protein
0g
Carbs
12g
Fat
0g
Tips & tricks
Bruise the basil, don’t muddle it — muddling tears the leaves and the drink turns grassy and bitter within minutes.
Double strain through a fine mesh over the shaker’s own strainer — the basil shreds fine, and one leaf fragment in the glass reads as an accident, not a garnish.
Chill the coupe in the freezer while you shake. A room-temperature glass melts the first sip’s worth of ice before you’ve tasted it.
Substitutions
Gin
Vodka works if you want the basil to lead; you lose the juniper backbone.
Fresh lime juice
Lemon juice, in a pinch — sharper and less floral, but it holds together.
Simple syrup
1 tsp honey stirred with 1 tsp hot water, if that's what's open.
Pairs well with
Same green, tomato, basil register — pour one for whoever is assembling the tray.
Storage & leftovers
This one doesn't keep — the basil turns bitter and the ice will have watered it down within the hour. Make the simple syrup ahead instead; it holds a month in the fridge, so the only thing left to do at party time is shake.
Questions people ask
Can I make this in a batch for a party?
What gin works best here?
Why double strain?
Postcards from my kitchen
Made this one?
Tell me how it went, or what you did differently. The best changes to these recipes have come from readers.