Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: False Fall

Happiest of Fridays to you all! Despite the calendar’s date and the official season, Fall has kind of fucked off the last few days and I’m kinda here for it. I like the Fall. It’s the best beer drinking season by far, it doesn’t suck to be outside yet, and, you get cool shit like a sports equinox happening:

Speaking of the last hurrah of warm days, I still have some herbs in my garden I need to do something with before the first frost. One of which is basil. I already took a bunch and made some kick ass pesto, but the basil shrugged off the haircut I gave it and kept on growing. I think I’m gonna get another batch of pesto in, but why not see if I can make a drink out of it? That idea was Mrs. Sharkbait’s by the way. She went and found this recipe for a basil gimlet. She reminded me that A) I do enjoy gimlets, and B) I haven’t had one in a long time so she sealed the deal for the drink this week:

1.5 oz gin
1 oz lime juice (about 1 large lime)
.75 oz simple syrup
8 fresh basil leaves
ice
extra basil for garnish

Place 8 fresh basil leaves into an empty cocktail shaker. Use the muddler to gently muddle the leaves by pressing firmly down on them. You should start to see the muddler make marks on the leaves, and smell the fresh basil as it releases its scent. Muddle until you’ve gotten all the leaves.
Fill shaker halfway with ice.
Add gin, lime, and simple syrup. Put the lid on your shaker and shake vigorously.
Remove the cap and strain* your Basil Gimlet into a coupe glass (or whichever glass you prefer).
Add extra basil for garnish if you like.

*It doesn’t say to do so, but double straining or fine straining is needed, as you can see below, some smaller basil leaves will get through the strain, so you want to minimize how many muddled leaves get through.

Certainly get basil on the nose, which I find rather pleasant. The gin aromas seep through as well, but nothing abrasive to the senses. It’s there, but is complimented by the basil.

Oh this is good. The lime leads the way, like any good gimlet would. It’s up front and sour, but not overpowering. Because of that, the bite from the gin is almost nonexistent. I can get a little bit of it once the lime flavors somewhat dissipate. The lime never does totally go away though. It’s always there, but it lessened in intensity with the aforementioned gin, and the simple syrup. Of which I may have slightly overpoured in my jig. 3/4 of an ounce is somewhat hard to eyeball and I may have gone a touch over. Less than a full ounce, but over the ask. As such, I do think the drink skews towards the sweeter end at the end, but it certainly is still drinkable. The basil doesn’t stand out too much, but it is definitely there and it adds a nice depth to the drink. It’s herbal flavors do come through, enough that you can pick up the earthy, herbal notes that it brings to the table. Note that the basil herbal flavors are lightyears different that the gin’s but I think thats why they stand out. I think it’s the slightly sweet/peppery flavor that lets it through the gin, simple syrup and the lemon juice.

When it finishes, the lime juice starts to stand out a little more and hangs out on the palate. Not bad, but it’s there. I liked this a lot. The basil just made it different that a regular gimlet. Would I do it again? Yeah. If I had some basil on hand that I needed to use, I’ll make myself a basil gimlet. Assuming I don’t need any pesto of course…

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)