Clementine and Basil Bash

Sometimes you can make a cocktail that is quite, quite complex in flavor. Like my Clementine and Basil Bash. It’s a riff on a drink called the Come on In from Prosecco Made Me Do It by Amy Zavatto. I reviewed Amy’s lovely book last week. Amy’s drink features a combination she relishes fresh basil and pineapple. She adds some lemon bitters, gin, and prosecco.

I’ve gone down a slightly different path. No lemon bitters. Instead of fresh clementine juice. I have used Basil Simple Syrup, but four times as much as Amy uses. And I’ve cut back on the pineapple juice. Amy’s combo is pineapple with a basil hint. Mine is “something citrusy and sweet” with a notable shot of basil. My drink is more “confusing” to bewilder your tongue. And make you sigh and smile.

This is a drink you can play with endlessly: change the proportions, change the citrus components. And that Basil Simple Syrup? I’ll give you more ideas later this week.

For this drink you need some gin and there is no better choice than Malfy Original Gin. One sniff of the bottle and you’ll understand. And be quite gin impressed.

Yield: 2 cocktails

Ingredients:

l ½ ounces fresh clementine juice
3 ounces Malfy Original Gin
2 ounces Basil Simple Syrup [recipe follows]
3 ounces unsweetened pineapple juice
6 ounces Prosecco
Garnish of your choice: pineapple slice, basil leaf

Preparation:

Fill a double rocks glass with ice. Add the liquid ingredients. Shake for 30 seconds. Pour into two glasses and add ice.

Source: Prosecco Made Me Do It by Amy Zavatto [Andrews McMeel, 2017]

Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/3.5 for 1/40^th second at ISO‑2000

Basil Simple Syrup

Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups of water
2 cups of sugar
1 ounce of fresh basil leaves

Preparation

Put the water and sugar in a saucepan. Stir to mix and turn on the heat. Over medium heat, keep stirring and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the basil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.

Clementine and Basil Bash