Welcome back to QCK!
It’s Friday Eve! This week has been nothing short of wild for me, I’m tired and I’m taking Friday off and enjoying a long weekend of doing nothing. In celebration of that, I’m going to share my absolute favorite summer cocktail.
Okay, so it’s a basil greyhound and it’s so incredibly simple and extremely refreshing. If you wanted to, this would also make a great fresh juice to just have around the house. A greyhound is basically just grapefruit juice and vodka, I add a basil simple syrup to mine and that makes this drink right here. I love the combination of basil and citrus because it brings out the natural sugars in citrus that we don’t normally taste. Basil is slightly eathy and generally used in savory dishes but it’s one of those herbs that translates really well into drinks and desserts as well. It’s very subtle here, but it leaves a really nice after taste.
Substitutions and Add Ons
- Basil can be substituted for rosemary.
- Vodka can be substituted with gin or tequila.
- Simple Syrup can be swapped for agave. Instead of heating it up, just place a few leaves of basil in the agave and leave it over night to infuse.
- You can also add lemon or lime juice, sparkling water.
Recipe
| Prep: 5 Min | Cook: 10 Min | Category: Drinks | Servings: 2 |
Ingredients
- 2 C Fresh Grapefruit Juice, 3-4 Large Grapefruits
- 1/4 C Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 C Water
- 4-5 Large Basil Leaves
- 4 oz Vodka (2 oz per drink)
- Ice, for serving
- Grapefruit wedges and basil sprigs, for serving, optional
Directions
- In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring occasionally until all sugar is dissolved.
- Boil for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly.
- Remove from heat and add basil sprigs. Allow to steep for 10-15 minutes.
- Transfer to a heat-safe container and place in fridge until ready to use. Cool to at least room temperature.
- In the meantime, juice the grapefruits.
- In 2 seperate glasses, add ice, grapefruit juice, 1 Tbsp basil simple syrup and 2 oz of Vodka (or more if you’d like).
- Gently stire to combine and garnish with basil sprig and grapefruit wedge.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you tried it out let me know in the comments. For more recipes check out my homepage and follow along on Instagram. Don’t forget to like, follow, comment and share. Thanks for reading!
Quarter Cup Kitchen 