🌿 Gin Basil Smash

Fresh basil muddled with gin and lemon — bright, herbal, and completely addictive.

5 minutes
Serves 1
Shaken
Gin cocktail
Ingredients
  • 2 oz London Dry gin (Tanqueray, Hendrick's, or Beefeater)
  • ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
  • ¾ oz simple syrup
  • 8–10 fresh basil leaves (large leaves work best)
  • Ice
  • Basil leaf — to garnish
Method
  1. 1
    Muddle the basilAdd basil leaves to a cocktail shaker. Muddle firmly 5–6 times to release the oils and break down the leaves. Don't be timid — you want the basil broken up and the oils released, but don't muddle so hard the leaves become black mush.
  2. 2
    Add liquidAdd gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup to the shaker. The combination of citrus and alcohol helps extract the basil flavour further.
  3. 3
    Shake with iceFill the shaker with ice and shake very hard for 15 seconds. Harder and longer than most cocktails — this is important for the herb extraction.
  4. 4
    Double strainStrain through both your cocktail strainer and a fine-mesh strainer into a rocks glass over ice. The fine strainer catches all the basil pulp and tiny leaf fragments.
  5. 5
    GarnishPlace a fresh basil leaf on top. For visual impact, slap it lightly between your palms first — this releases more aroma and makes the leaf glisten.

Which Gin Works Best

London Dry gin with juniper, citrus, and coriander notes is the classic choice — the botanical bitterness of the juniper plays beautifully against the fresh basil. Tanqueray is the most frequently recommended: clean, juniper-forward, and not too expensive.

Hendrick's (with its cucumber and rose petal notes) adds an interesting floral dimension that works well if you want a more delicate drink. Avoid very heavily botanical gins (Monkey 47, Gin Mare) — they compete with rather than complement the basil.

Variations

🍋 Gin Lemon Thyme Smash

Replace basil with 6 fresh thyme sprigs. The woody, slightly medicinal quality of thyme is surprisingly excellent with gin and lemon.

🌸 Gin Elderflower Basil Smash

Add ½ oz elderflower liqueur (St-Germain) and reduce the simple syrup to ¼ oz. The elderflower and basil are a genuinely beautiful combination.

🍓 Strawberry Basil Smash

Add 3 fresh strawberries to the shaker alongside the basil and muddle together. The strawberry sweetness lets you reduce or eliminate the simple syrup.

🥒 Cucumber Basil Smash

Add 3 slices of cucumber to the shaker before muddling. The cucumber amplifies the freshness of the basil and adds texture to the drink.

Related
🌿 Gin Guide Which gin works best here 🍸 Classic Gin Cocktails More gin recipes 🍓 Clover Club Another elegant gin sour 🍋 Gimlet The gin-lime classic 📖 All Cocktail Recipes Browse the full collection