Hi, Friends of Cocktails! The Gin Basil Smash is one of the most popular modern classic cocktails for good reason. It’s so delicious I’ve even made it on the channel 3 times - the classic, clarified and limecello versions, to be precise. But last year I tried something that made me think if it’s possible to make this drink even better… I tried a herbal Gin & Tonic with a Purple Basil Cordial! Before I tell you how to make it though, I have to tell you a short story about how I found out about it.
So, where did I first try this interesting Gin & Tonic? Was it in one of the cocktail capitals of the world? New York, Mexico City, London, Barcelona? No, it was in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I traveled there recently alongside one of the most influential people in the cocktail industry, Danil Nevsky, a.k.a., the Cocktailman, to host a masterclass that was attended by more than 500 people.
Alongside learning about local traditions, and a guest shift at the Bee’s Knees bar, we also checked out some other places, including the Archive bar, where I tried the Purple Basil Gin & Tonic. That was back in October, but for me to show you this cocktail I needed to get my hands on some purple basil, which proved so difficult, I needed to grow my own, to test the recipe. Better late than never, right?
So once you’ve found it, this is how you make the key ingredient for today’s two cocktails, the Purple Basil Cordial. You’ll need the purple basil, water, sugar, lime juice, citric and malic acids, and agar agar to make it clear. So let’s begin, it’s Cocktail Time!
Purple Basil Cordial
● 60g Purple Basil
● 615g Water
● 324g Sugar
● 135g Lime Juice
● 13g Citric Acid
● 11g Malic Acid
● 2.4g Agar Agar
Start off by blanching the basil by placing it in boiling water for 5 seconds, then it goes straight into an ice bath for 1 minute. The short time in boiling water is to make sure we’re not losing too much of the color there, but blanching will also make sure the flavor stays fresh in our cordial. Once the blanching is done just remove some of the bigger stalks and place the basil leaves in a blender alongside the water, sugar, lime juice, and acids.
Then it’s finally time to blend for about 60 seconds. These volumes will yield about 800mL or 27oz of cordial, because some of it will get caught during clarification and filtration, which is the next part. For that we’ll need to hydrate the agar agar. I don’t want to heat up the whole cordial, so I’ll add about a quarter of it to a pan along with the agar, and whisk constantly as I bring this up to a simmer over medium heat.
It’s crucial for agar to fully dissolve and hydrate, as that will make the clarification possible. So once it starts simmering, turn off the heat and whisk in the rest of the cordial, to cool down the mixture. To fully chill it down I’ll pour it into a bowl and place it in the same ice bath I used for the basil before. You can also place this in the freezer, of course, then you just need to give it at least an hour to thicken. Finally break the gel gently with a whisk and it’s time to filter through a cloth filter.
As always when filtering, I’ll check if the first part is completely clear, before the solids create an additional filter. This way we can refilter the first part if our cord is cloudy, but this time it’s perfect from the get go, so we’ll leave the rest of it to filter through. It will take some time, especially if you want to get the maximum yield, but once it’s done, you can bottle it up, add a label, and store it in the fridge.
I’d recommend using our Purple Basil Cordial within two weeks, but it should be good for up to a month. You can also freeze if you need it for longer, but I think it’s now time to make and try the Purple Gin & Tonic from the Archive Bar in Almaty.
Purple Gin & Tonic
● 45mL · 1.5oz London Dry Gin
● 30mL · 1oz Purple Basil Cordial
● 100g Tonic Water
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
● A Lime Wedge
This one is basically as simple as your classic G&T. Into a chilled highball glass over a tempered clear ice spear I’m adding the gin and Cordial, as well as a couple of drops of saline solution to make the flavors pop. Now top that up with tonic water, and if you want to be precise, a scale is your friend. Mix the ingredients with a gentle turn and a lift with a barspoon then add the garnish. So how does this beautiful cocktail taste?
This is a rich Gin & Tonic that offers sweet herbal flavors of basil and a hint of spiciness. At the same time, it's nicely balanced, even with the added sugar and acids. A wonderful Gin & Tonic, but most importantly, it’s the reason we’re making this next one, the Gin Basil Smash, Purple version. Basically it’s a 2-ingredients cocktail that can easily be batched, but you can of course make this without the cordial by just muddling the basil in the shaker the same way you would with the classic, green basil.
Purple Basil Smash
● 45mL · 1.5oz Monkey 47 Gin
● 30mL · 1oz Purple Basil Cordial
● 1 barspoon Creme de Violette
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
● 1 Purple Basil Leaf
To keep it clear I’ll be throwing the cocktail instead of shaking it. So ice goes into the small tin, and into the large shaker tin I’m adding our gin, saline and Purple Basil Cordial. Then proceed to pour our cocktail into the small shaker tin with ice and back, holding back the ice with a strainer. Increase the distance and you’ll also notice the amount of liquid increase as the cocktail gets diluted, but also nicely chilled, with the added aeration you just can’t get with stirring.
Now pour your clear cocktail over a clear ice sphere in a chilled glass. I’ll finish it off with a float of Creme de Violette, and for garnish we can’t go with anything other than a purple basil leaf - beautiful. The taste of this Basil Smash is similar to the classic, but here it gives a subtle floral and at the same time herbal feel. It’s Full-bodied and pleasantly sweet, but is it better than the original?
Now that we’ve reached the Bottom of The Glass it’s time to reflect on the Basil Smash. The classic one has gained world fame for a reason. It’s bright, herbal, and balanced. The Purple Basil Smash has a bit more nuance to it, with the floral notes complementing the herbal ones. All in all, they are very similar, but I would say that the Green Basil Smash is more of a day-time drink, while the purple one is for an evening treat.
Still, I wouldn’t sleep on the Clarified Basil Smash either, which brings a surprising amount of flavor for a clear cocktail, and the limecello version wasn’t bad either, if I can say so myself. So check those two versions out and I’ll see you next week, Friend of Cocktails. Cheers!