We are in Kentucky and about to get pounded with what we consider to be an enormous amount of snow (7-8 inches, not a lot by most standards, but it basically shuts our town down!). My Mom is here with me, and we are preparing. By doing cocktail testing! We are not planning on leaving the house for the next few days and while everyone else was out stocking up on milk and bread, we were buying alcohol for us and diapers for the baby! We are all set to spend this weekend stuck inside next to fire, drinking great cocktails and watching PBS, while the baby entertains the dogs. It’s a win win for everyone. To be honest, I am looking forward to all of the snow and can’t wait for it to get here!

I have been playing around with hot toddys lately and gave a great recipe for one a few days ago. It offered a little inspiration for my favorite drink so far from tonight’s experimenting. I wanted to do something that wasn’t too heavy, but still offered some comfort. That’s how I came up with the Ginger Basil Gimlet! It’s a super easy drink to make and enjoy. The honey syrup that is mentioned is basically just equal parts honey and water boiled together and cooled. You can make a large batch of this ahead of time and store it in the fridge. It will keep for about two weeks, but I can’t imagine it will last that long! I like a lot of lemon tang in my drinks, but if you prefer a sweeter drink, cut back on the lemon and add more honey syrup.

Here goes nothing!

Ginger Basil Gimlet        Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:

• Juice from one lemon
• 5 leaves of fresh or  two pinches of dried basil (if you use fresh, break it up in the bottom of the glass with a muddler or something to bruise it, but not cutting it. You want the flavors to escape. Bruised leaves will offer their flavors, while cut leaves tend to hold them in)
• 4 shots of honey syrup
• 2 shots of Gin
• 4 drops of 18-21 Bitters Ginger Lemon Bitters (If you don’t have this, you can order it here. If you want to make this drink now and order these later, you can ommit the bitters and have a perfectly nice Basil Gimlet without the Ginger. You can use ginger powder, or infuse some ginger in your syrup if you like, but it doesn’t offer a huge pop of flavor like the bitters do!)

Directions:

• Muddle basil if using fresh. Add ice to glass with basil. (Dried basil can be added later)
• Juice lemon directly into glass
• Add syrup (you can play with the tart and sweet elements and get a mix that works for you!)
• Add dried basil (If you are using dried instead of fresh)
• Mix in Gin and Bitters (if using)
• Stir together and garnish with a lemon peel if you like! (I always like 🙂

I hope you enjoy this drink and a hot toddy if you are snowed in this weekend like us!