With the weather being somewhat unpredictable lately, there’s been a lot of opportunity to cancel all those well-laid plans, sit around, and watch rain fall.
Fortunately, all isn’t lost. A light shower never fails to bring out the ripe, fresh scent of grass and flowers, which in turn always puts me in the mood to make a drink full of botanical flavours. The obvious choice is to look in the kitchen for inspiration and pick a classic ingredient from there. It just so happened that on such an occasion, I had a bunch of fresh basil ready to make a simple Italian home dinner.
Such herbs have been used for hundreds of years in cooking, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to start using them in drinks. Inspired by a trip to Europe last year, I decide to make a cocktail that is best described as a modern classic: the Gin Basil Smash. One would probably guess that the origins of such a drink to be Italy, but the truth is found somewhat north of that. Jörg Meyer of le Lion in Hamburg created this drink in 2008, and it went on to win Best New Cocktail at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award. At the time, it was called the Gin Pesto, which describes it pretty well!
Anyone who’s had any Italian food at all (which we can pretty much take for granted in Singapore) will be familiar with the Italian basil. It’s a rather sweet, mellow herb that has just enough grassy and herbaceous scents to give a bracing freshness. It also has a wonderful soft, delicate texture that is mirrored in its light flavour.
It’s good to note that our latin herb is quite different indeed from its cousin the Thai basil. Where the Italian Basil is a gentle puff of pepper and mint, the Thai is a blast of spice, chlorophyll and aniseed. The two are distant relatives at best, and should not be swapped around in the drink, or the results can be…interesting.
Fortunately, Italian Basil is easy to get, even here in Singapore. Many Fairprice and Cold Storage stores have them for sale…and fresh ones at that, for most part. That’s a good thing, of course. Basil leaves quickly lose their flavour, and can take on an unpleasant colour and off-tastes with age. Lemons bring out the natural crispness and are a natural pairing.
- 8- 10 medium size Italian Basil leaves
- 2 oz Gin
- 1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 oz. simple sugar syrup
- Gently muddle the basil leaves in a mixing tin for about 10 seconds
- Add the lemon juice and sugar syrup and muddle gently for another 5 seconds
- Add in the gin, ice and shake well
- Double strain it into an old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice, garnish and serve.
Muddling is usually done with a wooden pestle-like implement called a muddler, and some care must be taken here not to damage the delicate leaves overmuch and release bitter flavours hidden deep within the leaves. Resist the urge to crush the basil like grapes at a vineyard, but to lightly bruise it and release the wonderful peppermint aroma locked right at the surface. For the choice of gin, I like Hendrick’s for its light and floral flavour; it combines well with the rest of the ingredients and doesn’t dominate the other flavours. You can garnish with a lemon twist, but I really prefer to use fresh basil springs for this one. It calls to mind the ingredients in the cocktail and provides a nice aroma every time you raise the glass for a sip.
For a simple variation on the classic, I’ve tried adding blueberries. The blueberries are quite tart, but also add a slight earthiness to the drink. It has a really different look to it, and is slightly more tart than the classic.
- 6-8 Italian Basil Leaves (mid sized)
- 12 Blueberries
- 2 oz Gin
- 1 oz. simple sugar syrup
- 1/2 oz. lemon juice
- Lightly muddle the basil leaves and blueberries lightly in a mixing tin for about 10 seconds
- Add in the sugar syrup and lemon juice, then muddle for a further 5 seconds
- Add in the gin, and shake with ice
- Double strain into a an old-fashioned glass
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves and blueberries
Both drinks are light and subtle, yet flavourful. The flavours of the basil work as a foil to the sourness of the lemon or berries, while never threatening to dominate the drink, The best part of course, is that iyou can literally taste the freshness of the ingredients in the drink. Both variants works splendidly as a perk-me-ups or in harmony with a light meal of pasta and seafood. Plain delicious and simple to make.
