The Gin Basil Smash, compared with more established cocktails such as the Negroni and the Gin and Tonic, has behind it a far more recent story, dating back less than twenty years.
It was 10 July 2008 when bartender Jorg Meyer, while working at Le Lion Bar de Paris in Hamburg, invented a drink of intensely aromatic character, which he initially called Gin Pesto.
In very short order he realised the name did not do justice to the cocktail, and so the Gin Basil Smash was born.
It appears that the inspiration which led him to create this drink came during a trip to New York in 2007, just one year before bringing the Gin Basil Smash into the spotlight.
There, Meyer had tasted a bourbon mixed with sugar syrup, lemon juice and mint. But the true revelation came to the bartender upon his return home: leafing through a recipe book, he was struck by a particular French gin, pictured alongside a garnish of basil.
Everyone at Le Lion Bar de Paris was intrigued by this new blend, fresh yet at the same time complex, with an inviting green hue.
But the wide diffusion of this cocktail was undoubtedly due to Meyer’s marketing strategy, as simple as it was incisive: to this day, outside Le Lion, there is a sign in English declaring that it is precisely there that one drinks the celebrated Gin Basil Smash. The subsequent spread through blogs and social media did the rest.
A small curiosity: it is said that the bar consumes so much basil annually that German bartenders have dubbed this phenomenon “Meyer’s Curse”.
How to prepare the Gin Basil Smash
As the name suggests, this drink belongs to the Smash family of cocktails, which originally called for muddling mint leaves with a pestle together with sugar, then straining, adding a spirit and shaking.
This is a quintessentially summer drink. Thanks to the freshness of lemon and basil, you will savour a truly compelling cocktail. The Gin Basil Smash is prepared inside the shaker.
Begin by gently muddling 12 basil leaves. Unlike mint, which turns bitter when muddled too aggressively, basil can withstand a somewhat firmer hand, releasing its essential oils more generously.
This does not mean, however, that the leaves should be shredded. Then fill the shaker with ice. At this point pour in:
- 60 ml of gin,
- 22.5 ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice,
- 10 ml of sugar syrup.
Shake vigorously, then strain the contents through a strainer, serving the drink in a rocks glass and garnishing with a few small basil leaves.
Basil: a genuine innovation
Today one frequently hears of drinks aromatised with every manner of spice, from pepper to star anise to juniper berries. But nearly twenty years ago, Meyer introduced to the world one of the first aromatised cocktails, employing an aromatic herb until then known only in the kitchen: basil.
Anyone who has never inhaled a basil leaf has yet to discover the true fragrance of the Mediterranean. Basil carries a hint of the sea, a hint of the earth, and for us Italians, it is something utterly indispensable at the table every day.
Its potent aromatic charge, however, presented certain challenges, as balancing basil within a cocktail was not straightforward. Hence the choice of gin, a spirit infused with various aromatic herbs yet possessed of a sufficiently delicate flavour.
At this point the bartender decided to introduce a sweet note, tempering the dry edge of the gin with sugar syrup. Finally, a gentle acidic note, provided by the lemon juice, to give this drink the taste of summer that has made it so celebrated.
How to prepare the perfect Gin Basil Smash
As always, following the recipe, here are some useful tips for preparing a perfect Gin Basil Smash and impressing your guests.
Preparing the Gin Basil Smash is genuinely straightforward, so just a few simple touches will yield a result worthy of the finest bartenders.
First and foremost, the golden rule: “Always use organic ingredients.” Remember that we are preparing a cocktail based on fresh ingredients, so there can be no compromise on the quality of the basil. If it is imported or of poor quality, the drink you produce will have a decidedly more lacklustre character.
The same applies to the lemons. Always choose Sicilian lemons, more fragrant and intensely flavoured, so that your Gin Basil Smash will truly taste of the Mediterranean.
Some variations on the theme
Given that the Gin Basil Smash is already in itself a highly distinctive cocktail with a precise character, it might seem more complicated to introduce variations to this drink.
In reality, as we never tire of repeating, the only limit is your imagination. If, for example, you wish to give the basil gin cocktail a more intense, sweeter flavour, you could substitute the sugar syrup with honey.
Prefer slightly more acidic flavours? Substitute the lemon juice with lime, for a guaranteed result.
With gins, moreover, you can explore an immense world. For example, Gin Mare is distilled with various botanicals, including basil itself, for a finish that echoes the Mediterranean character of this cocktail.
Or Gin Vettore, in which the various botanicals balance perfectly with basil, for a drink you will not easily forget.
Finally, you might embellish the drink with an additional aromatic note. Try adding mint to the basil and muddling them together, for a perfect hybrid of mojito and Gin Basil Smash!
Sibilla Smash: when basil meets Gin Vettore
You do not need the sea to immerse yourself in the Mediterranean. This variation on the classic Gin Basil Smash, which takes the name Sibilla Smash, proves as much.
Straight from the Marche, this drink will transport you with a single sip to the summit of Monti Sibillini, before that longed-for plunge into the crystalline waters of the Mediterranean.
The potent aromatic character of basil, combined with fresh lemon juice, gives the cocktail its quintessentially Mediterranean character.
But the sweetness of Mela Rosa dei Sibillini and the delicacy of lemon balm found in Gin Vettore help to temper the assertive tone of this drink.
Finally, to bring things back to earth, this splendid cocktail is enhanced by a cane sugar syrup, lending a touch of rustic, mountain character to a drink that does not wish to put on airs.
The result is a drink of Mediterranean flavour, fresh yet at the same time refined. Absolutely one to try.