Basil and Strawberry Gimlet

Yield: 1 cocktail

Ingredients:

6 basil leaves
2 strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 medium lime
2 ounces vodka or gin
2 tablespoons Simple Syrup (recipe below)

Equipment needed:   cocktail shaker, muddler or wooden spoon, martini glass

Directions:

Put basil leaves in bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add strawberries and lime juice. Muddle by mashing with a muddler or wooden spoon. Add several ice cubes, vodka or gin, and Simple Syrup. Cover and shake several times until shaker feels icy cold. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

2 parts sugar
1 part water

Directions:

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil to dissolve sugar. Cool and store in refrigerator.

Both recipes from Herbal Cookery From the Kitchens and Gardens of the St Louis Herb Society, 2009, page 38.