I love strawberries. I love basil. I love martinis. So for today’s happy hour I made a Strawberry Basil Martini.
The combination of ripe, juicy strawberries and sweet basil is an unusual but such a wonderful combination. Well, at least I think so! Of course, this martini is made with vodka. No surprise there for those of you that read my Hump Day Happy Hour posts weekly. Vodka is my spirit of choice for all these fruit flavored kind of martinis. Vodka just blends so well with them and doesn’t overpower your palate.
If you happen to have a local strawberry stand that sells fantastic ripe, sweet strawberries, use them! But if not, and your strawberries are rather pale when you cut into them, they’re probably not that sweet. That’s okay, just cut them up and sprinkle some sugar on them and let them macerate a while. If you don’t have any strawberries but happen to have a bag of frozen ones in the freezer, take some out and use them. It’s all good.
Just muddle some fresh, fragrant basil with the strawberries, add a little vodka, some fresh squeezed lemon juice, and a bit of club soda and you have yourself a really delicious Strawberry Basil Martini.
PrintStrawberry Basil Martini
Strawberries + Basil = YUMMMM
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. vodka
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 3 strawberries*
- 8–10 basil leaves
- 1 oz. club soda
- splash simple syrup (about 1/2 oz. depending on your sweetness preference)
Instructions
- Combine strawberries and basil in a cocktail shaker and muddle. Add vodka, lemon juice, club soda and splash of simple syrup if the strawberries aren’t sweet enough for your liking. Add ice and shake well. Strain in a chilled martini glass. Garnish as desired.
Notes
I take a box of strawberries from the store, cut them all up and put them in a bowl with some sugar, a tablespoon or two, and let them sit and get juicy. Then when making the cocktail, just take a couple spoonfuls of the strawberries and some of that good sugary strawberry juice and use that to start your drink with.