Basilberry Mocktail

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This recipe yields 3 drinks

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup honey
  • 3-5 strawberries
  • 4 basil leaves
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 1 heaping green tea leaves or 1 green tea bag, steeped
  • Ice
  • 240 ml water
  • 240 ml honey
  • 3-5 strawberries
  • 4 basil leaves
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 1 heaping green tea leaves or 1 green tea bag, steeped
  • Ice

TIPS

**Do not over muddle the basil or it will become bitter.
**Lemon juice acts as a natural sour; for more tanginess, add more lemon juice.
**To make this mocktail a cocktail, you can use 2 ounces of bourbon to replace the green tea. 

Original recipe by Botanical Mixology.

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Sumactail

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Sumac is one of my favorite spices thanks to its zesty flavor and bright red hue that brings a pop of color to many dishes I make. I also decided to try it in a mocktail (which could easily be a cocktail depending on your preference; I sometimes am able to tolerate tequila, which would work nicely here). Sumac and lemon are perfect partners, and honey adds some smooth sweetness, while the salt-rimmed glasses bring to mind a Mexican getaway. 

This recipe yields 4 mocktails

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup honey
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons of sumac
  • 10 lemons
  • Ice
  • Coarse salt to rim glasses
  • 120 ml honey
  • 120 ml water
  • 2 tablespoons of sumac
  • 10 lemons
  • Ice
  • Coarse salt to rim glasses

Directions

  1. Put honey, water, and sumac in a saucepan and place on low heat. 

  2. Heat the mixture until the honey begins to dissolve and the consistency becomes a thick simple syrup, approximately 10-15 minutes.

  3. Remove from heat and strain to remove the extra sumac. I sometimes strain twice depending on the amount of sumac sediment that gets caught in the strainer.

  4. Juice the lemons. Occasionally I add a little juice from a fresh orange, as well. 

  5. Place ice in a cocktail shaker. I use 1 cup / 120 ml of lemon juice to 1 tablespoon of simple sumac syrup mixture, but you can experiment with this depending on how sweet or sour you like it. 

  6. Shake with ice in shaker and serve in a salted rimmed glass. 

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