Cocktails with Basil cordial
Basil cordial is a sweetened basil infusion with acid in it — citric or lemon — so it brings sourness along with the sugar.
Substitutes for Basil cordial
Bruise fresh basil into barely warm sugar syrup, strain, and finish it with citric acid or a squeeze of lemon — a handful of leaves to a cup, ten minutes. The acid is what makes it a cordial rather than a syrup, and a basil syrup stands in for the flavor while leaving the sourness to the drink.
Often confused with
Basil syrup
Sugar and basil without the acid. It sweetens and does not sharpen, so a drink built on the cordial comes out flat and wants its lemon back.
Basil liqueur
Alcoholic and much drier, so it adds proof where the cordial added sweetness; a barspoon of syrup and a squeeze of lemon put the balance back.
Storage
Basil browns as it oxidizes, so the color goes before the flavor does. A syrup gone olive still tastes of basil and looks wrong in a clear glass. Refrigerated, it lasts about a week.
