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Market Fresh: Drinking With Basil
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Jun 17, 2011
Modified Aug 2, 2011
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By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Jun 17, 2011
Modified Aug 2, 2011
Share
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Welcome back to our series Market Fresh, in which we take a look at one ingredient that's showing up in the city's Greenmarkets right now and tell you what to do with it. Last week, we looked at strawberries, and today, we have a very special cocktail edition of Market Fresh, featuring booze and basil.
Now that summer is totally on, fresh herbs like basil are in their prime, soaking up the sun and shooting out giant leaves in every direction. There are all sorts of different kinds of the herb, ranging from cinnamon basil (which, naturally, smells like cinnamon) to striking purple-colored Opal basil. Almost all basil has a subtle peppery flavor and a gentle sweetness that perks up pastas, sauces and, yes, cocktails! We talked to Brian Floyd, barkeep and "produce geek" at Prospect Heights New American favorite The Vanderbilt to see what he does with the herb:
"There is a British product called Bitter Lemon that I love with Pimms," says Floyd. "It's essentially a fizzy lemonade with quinine—hence the added tonic in this drink. Sweet basil is lovely with both Pimms and dry gin, and gives this drink a real herbacious zing. I sometimes use the funkier Thai basil or even lemon basil, anything interesting I find at the Greenmarket. Purple basil makes a lovely garnish with fresh cucumber."
The Vanderbilt's Brian Floyd's Pimms Cup
Mix together:
1 1/2 oz Pimms
1/2 oz gin
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
Top with:
4-6 leaves fresh sweet basil
splash of seltzer & tonic
garnish with cucumber slices
Tagged
basil
cocktail
cocktails
greenmarket
market fresh
recipe
the vanderbilt
Jamie Feldmar
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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