The last recipe this week for #Recipe Makeover is a Thai Basil Gimlet.We all know that I love to have a little cocktail on the weekend. I’m well aware that I’ve posted some really tasty, really beautiful, but really calorie intensive cocktails here on Fix Me a Little Lunch. This week, however, I’m offering up a cocktail that is cool and refreshing, but doesn’t break the calorie bank. The gimlet is very much a classic cocktail – my favorite literary reference for this cocktail is from Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye: “a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s lime juice and nothing else.”
The Thai Basil Gimlet is the perfect drink for a warm summer’s night. I combined a bit of Thai basil infused gin with lime juice and a Thai basil simple syrup. If this causes a bit too much pucker for your taste buds, feel free to adjust for sweetness. Personally, I like a sour drink to be sour.
The only bit of pre-planning this drink takes is a day or two to infuse the gin with the Thai basil. I recommend that the Thai basil infuse no longer than this or the gin will be thoroughly overpowered. Thai basil can come out swinging with flavor. The gin will turn a lovely pale gold color with the infusion, making this a positively sunny looking drink.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces gin
- 4 Thai Basil leaves, washed and gently crushed
- Juice from two limes
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- To infuse the gin, combine gin and Thai Basil leaves. Refrigerate for a day or two.
- To make the cocktail, make a simple syrup with the water and sugar. Set aside to cool. Combine the gin, lime juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and distribute between two cocktail glasses. Serve with a few Thai basil leaves and a couple of slices of lime. Enjoy!
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