Brazil Basil Smash
Muddle; Shake ∙ 4 min ∙ 17.9% ABV ∙
The Brazil Basil Smash is a muddled cachaça sour built with fresh basil, lemon juice, and sugar syrup, shaken and served over ice. Muddled basil perfumes the glass first, cachaça's grassy funk pushes through the middle, and fresh lemon keeps the finish crisp and clean.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- In the base of the shaker, muddle: Fresh basil leaves 12 pcs
- Add the remaining ingredients: Cachaça 60 mlLemon juice 25 mlSugar syrup 15 ml
- Shake with ice
- Fine strain into the glass filled with crushed ice
- Garnish with a basil sprig
Tips
- Muddle the 12 basil leaves on their own for about 10 seconds, before anything else joins them; over-muddling bruises the leaves and releases bitter, grassy flavors.
- Add the cachaça, lemon juice and sugar syrup after the basil is muddled, then fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 10-12 seconds to fully dilute and chill.
- Double-strain the shaken mix through a fine mesh strainer into the old-fashioned glass over crushed ice to catch shredded basil bits and keep the drink clear.
- Slap the basil sprig garnish between your palms once before placing it on the drink to release its aroma right at the surface.
History
The Brazil Basil Smash is a cachaca-based riff on the Basil Smash, a modern classic created in 2008 by German bartender Jorg Meyer at his bar Le Lion in Hamburg. Meyer developed the drink after tasting Dale DeGroff's Whiskey Smash at the Pegu Club in New York, then combined fresh basil with gin, lemon juice, and sugar syrup back in Hamburg; he initially served it under the name Gin Pesto before renaming it Basil Smash (also known as Gin Basil Smash) that July. The Brazil Basil Smash swaps in cachaca, Brazil's national spirit, for the original gin, giving the drink a grassier, sugarcane-driven base while keeping the muddled-basil smash format.
FAQ
What is in a Brazil Basil Smash?
Fresh basil leaves, cachaça, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and sugar syrup, muddled and then shaken over ice. It is finished with a basil sprig garnish and served in an old-fashioned glass.
What is a famous Brazilian cocktail?
The Caipirinha is Brazil's most famous cocktail, made by muddling lime and sugar with cachaça, the country's sugarcane spirit. The Brazil Basil Smash uses that same cachaça base but swaps the lime for fresh basil and lemon juice.
What's the most popular alcoholic drink in Brazil?
Cachaça is Brazil's most popular spirit and its national liquor, distilled from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses. It is the base of the Caipirinha and also drives the Brazil Basil Smash.
Is a Brazil Basil Smash shaken or stirred?
It is muddled first, then shaken. The basil is muddled to release its oils, and the mix is shaken hard so the lemon juice and syrup aerate and chill fully before straining over ice.
What glass is a Brazil Basil Smash served in?
An old-fashioned glass, garnished with a basil sprig on top of the ice.
How do I make the best basil smash?
Muddle the basil on its own first, gently, then add the cachaça, lemon juice and sugar syrup and shake hard for a full 10-15 seconds. This build is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and lactose-free, and comes in at about 193 calories per serving.
