I decided to do the unthinkable, take the full three-day weekend to myself and skip putting up a Monday post – but it’s great to be back! I hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend full of laughter and celebration. In honor of the un-official start of summer I wanted to share a snazzy, grown-up version of everyone’s favorite summer time refreshment, spiked basil-lemonade. I whipped up a few batches on Sunday morning to bring to a BBQ using Cupcake lemon chiffon flavored vodka, I was pleasantly sloshed before we even left the house just from sampling the different vodka to lemonade ratio options. The recipe is fairly easy, just keep in mind that the basil infused simple syrup takes a good 2-3 hours to cool. I also ended up using way more lemons than I thought, about 15 lemons for a pitcher and a half of lemonade.
Spiked Basil-Lemonade (recipe adapted from here)
2 cups basil lemon syrup
2 cups cold water
2 cups ice cubes
1 1/4 cups fresh lemon juice
10-15 shots lemon flavored vodka (I used Cupcake lemon chiffon flavored vodka)
Garnish: fresh basil sprigs; lemon zest strips
Stir together all ingredients in a large pitcher. Stir in as much lemon flavored Vodka as you like, I like mine nice and strong (about 10-12 shots for the pitcher) then pour into tall glasses half filled with ice. Enjoy!
Basil lemon syrup:
4 cups packed fresh basil sprigs (top 4 inches; from a 1/2-pound bunch)
4 cups water
2 cups sugar
9 (4- by 1-inch) strips lemon zest
Bring all ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Let stand at room temperature, covered, 1 hour, then transfer to an airtight container and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Strain syrup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids.
All images and graphics by moi.
This looks amazing!!!!
You had me at spiked! This lemonade looks absolutely delicious. I will definitely have to try this intermittently with my skinny girl margaritas this summer.
This cocktail looks yummy! I’m a pinot noir type of girl, but lately I’ve been seeing these yummy cocktails. Do we have Mad Men to thank? Whatever the cause, I might have to convert.
PS~Kate, your photos and layout are beautiful!
Thanks Theresa! Mad Men inspired me to invest in a very well stocked bar cart for the living room!
Kate
Love Cupcake Vodka and I love basil – can’t wait to try this!