Gin Basil Smash

A modern German classic and one of the few 21st-century drinks to enter the IBA canon, the Gin Basil Smash builds a herbal sour from gin, lemon, and simple syrup muddled and shaken hard with a handful of Genovese basil. Bartender Jörg Meyer created it at Hamburg's Le Lion in 2008 — first as "Gin Pesto" — riffing on the Whiskey Smash. The result is bracingly fresh: tart citrus and clean juniper carried on a green, peppery wave of crushed basil.

RefreshingClassic

Ingredients

  • 2 ozGin
  • 0.75 ozLemon Juice(freshly squeezed)
  • 0.75 ozSimple Syrup
  • 10 pieceBasil Leaf(Genovese/Italian basil, muddled)

Garnish: Basil Leaf

Preparation

Shaken · Coupe · None

  1. 1.

    muddle

    Gently muddle the basil leaves in the shaker to release the aromatic oils without shredding them.

  2. 2.

    add

    Add gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup to the shaker over ice.

  3. 3.

    shake

    Shake vigorously to chill and to bruise the basil through the ice.

  4. 4.

    strain

    Double-strain into a chilled coupe to leave the basil fragments behind (or serve over ice in a rocks glass).

  5. 5.

    garnish

    Garnish with a fresh basil sprig.

Flavor Profile

herbal
45%
citrus
33%
dilution
24%
floral
24%
spiced
20%
sour
15%
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