No. 34Vodka & Gin Pickle Cocktails
Pickle Basil Smash
Summer pesto energy, pickle-jar finish.
The Pickle Basil Smash is a bright green gin sour: fresh basil muddled with lemon and simple syrup, shaken with gin and dill pickle brine, and double-strained over ice. It is herbal, tart and lightly salty, like summer pesto in a glass, and the most garden-forward drink in the section.
21+Updated
Brine2/52 of 5
HeatNonenone
StrengthHigh
- Glass
- rocks glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Time
- 4 min
- Makes
- 1 drink
Ingredients
Make it for
Units
Amounts for 1, in ounces.
- 10 fresh basil leaves (plus a sprig for garnish)
- ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
- ¾ oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar and water)
- 2 oz gin
- ½ oz dill pickle brine
- 1 dill pickle chip (for garnish)
- Glass
- rocks glass
- Garnish
- basil and pickle chip
How to make it
- Muddle the basil with the lemon juice and simple syrup in a shaker.
- Add the gin and pickle brine.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 15 seconds.
- Double-strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.
- Garnish with a basil sprig and a pickle chip.
Bar tips
- Muddle firmly to release the basil oils, then double-strain so no leafy bits slip through.
- A juniper-forward London dry gin holds up to both the basil and the brine.
- Clap the basil sprig between your palms before garnishing to wake up the aroma.
Make it your own
- Use vodka for a softer, more basil-forward smash.
Bar lore
Jörg Meyer created the Gin Basil Smash at his Hamburg bar Le Lion in 2008, first calling it the Gin Pesto. It has since become one of the best-known modern classics.
Drink responsibly. This one is for adults of legal drinking age. Want it without the booze? The zero-proof drinks are just as briny.
Full recipe: dillin.org/recipes/pickle-basil-smash
