Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Vacation Vacation

Happy Friday. It’s been a week. Hoo boy is been a week. Oddly enough I’ve been on vacation this past week. My sister, her kids and my mom also stayed with us. It’s been fun, but a tiring week with four kids running around the house at all times. At least the weather has cooperated and we’ve got some beach days in as well. This week I wanted to keep it simple and seasonal. My mom brought some fresh basil from her garden to use for cooking and I was inspired to make a drink with it. I got to thinking about the Whiskey Smash I like to make, and figured that a basil smash would work wonderfully, so I went for it. I used the same exact recipe, but swapped basil for mint.

2 oz. Rittenhouse Bonded Rye Whiskey (I used Bulleit)

3 Lemon wedges

.75 oz Simple syrup

6 basil leaves, plus 1 sprig for garnish

Muddle the lemon wedges, basil leaves and simple syrup. Add the rye, then shake with ice and fine strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with the mint sprig.

Interesting twist on a whiskey smash, but with basil instead. Not much of a smell or aroma on this one. Basil is much more tame than mint. I got much more of a basil scent from my hand after plucking the leaves off the stem than from what I could get from the drink and the garnish.

The drink itself is very nice. It’s still on the sweeter side like the original, but the basil adds a nice herbal, freshness to it. It’s added flavor is much more subtle than the mint version is, and I think that’s a good thing. Don’t get me wrong, it still brings a good amount of flavor, it’s just different. Different enough that it seems like a completely new drink, at least to me.

It balances the sweetness from the simple syrup nicely, and basil and lemon are an excellent culinary match so I had no doubt, and am not surprised that it works well here too. It compliments the sour notes the lemon brings, but it also reigns it in and keeps it from ruining the balance.

As with the regular whiskey smash, the rye takes a back seat. The last time I did this I used bourbon, and I’m glad I made the switch to rye. Rye has that extra zip to really tie the drink together. But it does so in a way that isn’t overbearing. I can attest to this as my sister who is vacationing with us tried a sip of it and even she liked this drink, and she (up until this point) didn’t meet a whiskey drink that she liked.

Yeah, I’d make this again in a heartbeat. Good thing I’m growing a ton of basil at my house right now. I was gonna use it all for pesto and other foods, but I think I need to reserve a few leaves for this tasty cocktail.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)