Grapefruit Basil Martini

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Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/Nut-Free/Vegan

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: 1 martini

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Shot glass measure/Jigger

• Martini glass

• Cocktail shaker

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 ounces vodka

• 1 ounce grapefruit juice

• 4 basil leaves

• The juice of 1/2 of a small lime (about 1 tablespoon)

• 1/2 ounce agave nectar

Procedure:

1. Chill your martini glass by filling it with ice, then adding water. Set it aside as you make your cocktail.

2. In a cocktail shaker, add a large scoop of ice and the vodka, grapefruit juice, basil leaves, lime juice, and agave nectar.

3. Cover your shaker and shake vigorously a minimum of 15-20 shakes.

4. Discard the ice and water from your martini glass.

5. Strain everything into the chilled martini glass.

6. Garnish with additional basil leaves, if desired.

Adjusting for your diet: If you don't drink alcohol, simply omit the vodka. You could add more grapefruit juice, or you could experiment with adding in plain club soda or a grapefruit-flavored sparkling water would probably be great. If you do use something carbonated, shake all of your ingredients except your bubbles, then add your soda water to the shaker tin and give one light shake before you strain so you keep the carbonation intact.

Tips:

• Although I always list cocktail garnishes as "optional," in my humble opinion they should be there. There is an awesome book I use as a resource called The Flavor Bible, and in the first chapter it talks about how aroma is responsible for as much as 80% or more of flavor. I think taking a drink of a flavorful cocktail and inhaling the aroma of a sprig of herb or a twist of citrus really does enhance the overall experience.

• I am a devout follower of the Simply brand of juices, so I used Simply Grapefruit in the recipe, and it tasted (simply) great.

• If you don't have agave nectar you could easily sub in a little simple syrup, or just omit the sweetener all together.

• I also think another herb like mint would taste great in this cocktail if you're not a fan of basil or have something else on hand.

The Story:

This cocktail was born from a need to use up some grapefruit juice in my fridge :) I love grapefruit juice; I actually prefer it in my mimosas over orange juice. As a kid I used to eat grapefruits for breakfast a ton, with a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top. This martini actually brought back some memories of that flavor with the touch of agave nectar.

Stoli is usually my preferred vodka, but I'm not overly picky.

A bartender trick you learn early on for chilling a martini glass is to do what I described in the recipe above; fill the glass with ice from your well, water from the soda gun (usually soda water if it's busy, simply because it comes out of the gun faster than the still water), and set it on your bar mat while you build the martini. My husband actually has a funny story about a brand new bartender he was training; he asked her to chill a martini glass while he grabbed ingredients and he turned around to see her putting the martini glass in the beer cooler :)

Just chillin' with my homies...

This martini turned out beautifully; super refreshing and the herbaceous note of the basil was really tasty. I strained my cocktail between my shaker and a pint glass, so I did get some little bits of basil floating in the martini as you can see from the top photo. This didn't bother me, but if it would bother you, you could strain through a fine-mesh strainer and I think you'd get a cleaner looking martini.

Cheers!