Strawberry Basil Vodka Gimlet

We have gotten some really delicious strawberries this year and I decided to make a cocktail with them for some friends who are coming over.

To start, you need to assemble all your ingredients.

I took about 25 large strawberries and about 3 1/2 cups of vodka and processed them in the blender. I then used a fine mesh strainer to strain out most of the solids.

Then it was time to make the basil simple syrup. I combined 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar in a large microwave safe measuring cup and put it in the microwave for 3 minutes and stirred until the sugar was completely dissolved and the liquid was clear. Then I added 2 cups of washed fresh basil leaves and let it steep for 30 minutes.

I used tongs to remove the basil leaves and poured the simple syrup into a mason jar.

The last ingredient is lemon juice. I happened to have Meyer lemon juice in the freezer from making Meyer Lemon Limoncello at the holidays.

For the drink (I made enough to make 12 cocktails):

24 oz strawberry infused vodka

9 oz lemon juice

6-9 oz basil simple syrup

Add to cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain into cocktail glasses. Express lemon peel into glass and drop it in and serve.

These were so good!