What’s better than lemonade on a hot summer day? Maybe a sparkling gin basil lemonade! Moms deserve refreshment, too! This cocktail recipe comes together in a few minutes and will serve a crowd.
All year long, I love to make fun cocktails to share with friends. But, in the summer, the cocktails often need to be transportable so I can bring a fun drink to dinner or to a fun backyard barbecue. This recipe makes a beautiful (transportable) pitcher of Sparkling Gin Basil Lemonade.
I really love to make “herby” cocktails. I grow a lot of herbs in container gardens just to experiment with fun cocktails. It’s a job, but someone’s got to do it.
As with other “herby” cocktails in my repertoire, this sparkling gin basil lemonade was created out of a thirst for lemonade and an excess of basil. What goes great with basil and lemonade? Why not gin?
You can whip this cocktail up in a few minutes. I already had a lemon simple syrup in the refrigerator from another cocktail project, but I really wanted to bring in the basil flavor as well so I made a basil simple syrup to complement the lemon. Making simple syrups is really, well, simple!
HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE SYRUP:
Heat sugar and water (equal parts), bring to a boil, add herbs, reduce to simmer, simmer 5 to 10 minutes, let cool. Done and done. If you make extra simple syrup, put it in a mason jar and stick it in the fridge – it will last for a couple of weeks.
This recipe will make a generous pitcher of sparkling gin basil lemonade. You can modify the recipe to make a smaller amount.
Sparkling Gin Basil Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups gin
- 1 cup triple sec (super inexpensive mixer! get it!)
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
- 1 cup basil simple syrup
- 1 cup lemon simple syrup
- 2 Polar seltzers (20 oz each)
- Extra basil leaves and lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
- Make your simple syrup first. Heat equal parts water and sugar. For this recipe, 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar (or 3/4 cup sugar) for each simple syrup. Add a generous handful of basil for the basil simple syrup and a 1/2 of a lemon, sliced, for the lemon simple syrup. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool.
- Combine gin, triple sec, freshly squeezed lemon juice, basil simple syrup, lemon simple syrup. Stir to combine. Chill.
- Right before serving, add 2 bottles of seltzer water. Garnish with basil and lemon slices.
- Serve over ice.
- Optional: 2 cups basil simple syrup instead of 1 cup basil and 1 cup lemon simple syrups.
CHEERS! ~ Erin Brighton (www.campbrighton.com)
