Strawberry and Basil Lemonade Cocktail
It’s hot and steamy outside and it’s the weekend – so shakeup something cold, floral and refreshing!
Equipment
- small saucepan
- Muddler
- cocktail shaker
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe strawberries, hulled
- 8 fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup good gin, such as Plymouth
- ½ cup lemonade*, recipe below for fresh lemonade
- ¼ cup Cointreau
- ½ cup lemon soda or sparkling lemon water
- Ice for shaking and serving
- Extra strawberries and lemon slices for garnish
- For fresh lemonade:
- 3-½ cups water, divided
- 1-½ cups sugar
- 1-½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 10 lemons
Instructions
- Toss 1 strawberry and 4 basil leaves into two large highball glasses. Muddle the berries with the basil leaves, crushing them together.
- In a cocktail shaker add the gin along with the lemonade and the Cointreau.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake until very cold, about 1 minute.
- Fill each highball glass with ice and divide the cocktail between them. Pour ¼ cup lemon soda in each glass to top off the cocktail. Stir to blend well.
- Garnish with a strawberry slice and a slice of lemon.
- For the fresh lemonade:
- Pour ½ cup of the water into a small saucepan. Add the sugar and warm over medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Let the lemon simple syrup cool for about 10 minutes then pour it into a pitcher. Add the lemon juice.
- Pour in the remaining 3 cups of water and stir to mix well. You can add more lemon juice or water if desired to suit your taste.
Notes
*You can use fresh or your favorite store bought lemonade.
For the lemon soda I use either San Pellegrino Lorina French Soda.