You may have noticed I’m on a bit of a cocktail kick lately ( spritz , bellinis …) – they’re just so good, and especially appealing during the summer! The inspiration for the ginger and basil combo came from a drink my mom and I had during the July 4th event at the American Ambassador’s residence (with the CupCakery!). It was so lovely and refreshing, and not too sweet! So it just had to be recreated…

INGREDIENTS

for the lemonade;
100 g sugar
100 mL water
juice of 3 lemons, with pulp
600 mL water

for the cocktail;
4 basil leaves, plus more for garnish
2 thin slices of ginger, plus more for garnish
2 shots of gin
ice cubes
lemonade

DIRECTIONS

Make the lemonade;
Combine the sugar and 100 mL water in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, juice the lemons. I used a strainer to catch the seeds, but then added the pulp back into the lemon juice. Add the sugar syrup to the juice, followed by the 600 mL of water. Stir, and chill.

For the cocktail;
Place the basil leaves and ginger slices into a glass, and muddle well.

Add the gin, and place the glass in the fridge for 30 minutes. (You can totally skip this step, but I like my cocktails really cold, and it also lets the flavours from the basil and ginger go through the gin!)

Remove from the fridge, and add several ice cubes to the glass, and top up with lemonade. Add basil and ginger for garnish, and enjoy!