Strawberry Basil Smash mocktail recipe
A clean strawberry sour where basil stays on the nose rather than in the pulp.
Method: Shake · Glass: Double rocks glass · Time: 5 minutes · Difficulty: Beginner
Ingredients
- 4 ripe strawberries, quartered
- ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
- ½ oz simple syrup
- 2 oz chilled sparkling water
- to fill ice
How to make it
- Press the strawberries gently in the base of a shaker until they give up their juice; do not pulverise them.
- Add lemon juice, simple syrup and ice, then shake hard for 10 seconds.
- Double strain into a rocks glass over one large fresh cube.
- Top with sparkling water and give the drink one short lift with a bar spoon.
- Slap the basil between your palms, garnish and serve right away.
Garnish
A strawberry fan and one lightly slapped basil sprig
Why this balance works
Strawberries are sweet but soft, so lemon has to do more than make the drink taste bright. It gives the fruit an edge and keeps the finish from reading like a soft drink. The small top of sparkling water lightens the shaken fruit without washing it out. Taste the berries first: very ripe ones may need a touch less syrup, while early-season fruit can take the full measure.
Technique to keep
The useful skill here is restraint with both fruit and herbs. Pressing strawberries releases juice without turning seeds and fibre into an unpleasant slurry. Basil is better used as aroma than muddled into the drink, where it can become grassy. Double straining takes an extra moment, but it is what makes this feel like a clean short drink instead of a smoothie in a rocks glass.
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