I never know what will inspire me, but I never thought it would be this heat. I’m really not a lover of summer. I know that sounds weird, but I love cold, crisp weather, not swealter-y heat. So the fact that I was inspired by the current heat wave we are having is probably due to my love of seasonal cooking and desire to drink something refreshing!
When I saw this thai basil, I couldn’t help myself. It smells like basil, but with a deeper, more licorice note. I bought it, thinking I’d figure out what to do with it later. On the drive home, the ah-ha! A cocktail! Moment happened. I’m happy it did. This is a fragrant, spicy (but not too much) and sunshine-y drink. It’s a little more involved then the usual cocktails I make, but it’s fun to share with a group and perfect for summer.
You’ll use one mango for this, which makes enough purées for about 3-4 drinks. You’ll also need one lime, one small orange, and one jalapeño. Extra for garnish, if you want.
To make the mango purée, just cut the mango up, removing the skin and peel and put in a blender. Add the juice of the lime and orange, and blend until smooth.
Then, in a shaker with ice, put 1/4 of a jalapeño and about 1/4 cup of the thai basil leaves and muddle until the pepper and the leaves are crushed and it smells fragrant. THIS. SMELLS. SO. GOOD!
Pour in the vodka and shake until very cold, about 30-40 seconds. Strain and pour into a glass. Add 2 ounces of the mango purée and stir well. Add some ice and pour a little tonic water to fill up the glass. I used small glasses and I think I only needed about 1.5 ounces of tonic water.
And there you have it. A trip to Thailand in a glass, and a great way to beat this heat!
- 1 mango, cut into small chunks and pit and peel removed
- 1/4 a jalapeño, plus slices of jalapeño for garnish
- 1/2 small orange
- 1 lime
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 2 ounces vodka
- 2 ounces tonic water or club soda, or to taste
- Make the mango puree. Add mango to a blender. Squeeze the lime and the 1/2 orange into the blender. Pulse and then puree on high until smooth.
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle 1/4 of the jalapeño with 1/4 cup Thai basil leaves with ice, breaking up the ice and the pepper. Mash until fragrant. Pour 2 ounces of vodka into the shaker and shake until very cold, about 30-40 seconds. Strain into a glass. Add 2 ounces of mango puree and stir. Add ice cubes, and then top with the tonic water (about 2 ounces) and gently stir.
- Garnish with additional Thai basil leaves and jalapeño slices. This makes one drink, but you will have enough puree for at least 2-3 drinks.