What to do when you have fresh lemons and produce that needs to be used up? Come up with a cocktail, of course!
This easy, breezy drink can be whipped up in minutes and is so refreshing. I made it on a whim (just feeling creative, ya know?) and was so happy with how it turned out I had to share.
I’m sharing step-by-step photos to walk you through making this fun spritzer at home! In case you’re curious, here’s what my home bar tools look like:
The home bar setup
We have a very basic setup, but the basics are really more than enough to make most popular drinks.
The most important is probably the shaker. You can get by without the other things, but that one is a tough replacement. Other tools we like to have on hand are a jigger, strainer, and a long skinny spoon for stirring inside glasses or deep containers.
This recipe requires some muddling, and I don’t have a muddler on hand, but a spoon or other utensil will work just fine in a pinch.
How to make it
As I already mentioned, there’s muddling to be done. Grab your shaker and muddler, or your utensil of choice, drop a few basil leaves in your shaker and go to town on them.
Next, if you’re opting to use fresh lemons rather than bottled juice, squeeze half of one large lemon or one whole small lemon into a bowl. Measure out 1.5 ounces of juice and add to your shaker.
Add 1/2 ounce of simple syrup, or if you prefer natural sugar substitutes like I do, add about 3 drops of Stevia.
Toss in some ice, cover the shaker, and (the fun part) give it a good, long shake.
Grab your prettiest glass, just for fun, and fill it with ice.
Strain the mixture over the ice, and top it off with sparkling water. I use lime flavored La Croix because I didn’t have plain on hand. Plain would be ideal, but you can play with different flavor combos here if you like!
Garnish your glass with one or two remaining basil leaves, and there you have it! Delicious, refreshing, and classy AF.
This lemon-basil dream is perfect to have on hand when you’re playing host, or just needing to cool off at home!
The recipe
You’ll need:
- 3-5 basil leaves
- 3/4 oz. lemon juice
- 1 1/2 oz. vodka
- 1/2 oz. simple syrup OR a few drops of Stevia
- sparkling water
- ice
Here’s what to do:
- Set aside 1-2 basil leaves for garnish. Muddle remaining leaves in a cocktail shaker.
- Add vodka, sweetener of choice, and lemon juice. Add ice, cover, and shake.
- Strain into a glass filled with ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with basil leaves and enjoy!
Liked this recipe?
Let me know what you think! I’m a big cocktail guy myself and love creating gorgeous drinks at home like this one.
