Pineapple, basil and lemon give this vodka smash its fruit-and-herb flavor. The syrup needs its own infusion and cooling time. The ten-minute build assumes that component is already cold.
Pineapple Basil Smash
- 3 tablespoons washed diced pineapple
- 2 tablespoons washed sliced fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon prepared basil simple syrup (batch below)
- 2 fluid ounces vodka
- 2 fluid ounces pasteurized pineapple juice
- 1/2 fluid ounce Meyer or regular lemon juice
- 2 dashes commercially prepared citrus bitters
- 1 fluid ounce chilled soda water, optional
- ice
- 1 washed basil leaf and 1 washed lemon slice, optional garnish
- For syrup batch: 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- For syrup batch: 1/2 cup potable water
- For syrup batch: 1/2 cup tightly packed washed basil leaves
- Make syrup first: heat the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small pan just to a simmer, stirring to dissolve. Remove from heat, add the 1/2 cup basil leaves, cover and steep for 30 minutes. Strain into a clean heat-safe jar, cool promptly in an ice-water bath and refrigerate until cold. Measure the recovery, about 3/4 cup; use only 1 tablespoon in this cocktail. Refrigerate surplus and use within 24 hours.
- In a sturdy 16-ounce Collins glass, gently press 2 tablespoons diced pineapple and 1 tablespoon sliced basil with a muddler. Stir in 1 tablespoon cold syrup. Add ice halfway up, then the remaining 1 tablespoon pineapple and 1 tablespoon sliced basil; add more ice leaving headroom.
- Shake vodka, pineapple juice, lemon juice and bitters with ice for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into the prepared glass. If using soda, add the 1 fluid ounce after shaking and leave enough space for it; do not shake carbonation.
- Garnish with the measured basil leaf and lemon slice if desired; serve immediately. Keep stiff pineapple leaves out of the drink.
Yield: 1 cocktail; 5 fluid ounces liquid plus bitters, fruit and ice, or 6 fluid ounces with soda; surplus syrup about 11 tablespoons. Time: 10 minutes active plus 30 minutes syrup steep and about 30 minutes cooling; about 70 minutes from scratch, 10 minutes with cold syrup.
Spirits, fruit and sweetener
Gin or light/gold/dark rum can replace vodka at 2 fluid ounces; each changes flavor. For the standard sweetness use 1 tablespoon syrup; for less sweet use 1/2 tablespoon or omit it. Purchased plain simple syrup replaces basil syrup at 1 tablespoon; add 1 extra washed basil leaf at the first muddle. That shortcut takes 10 minutes. Do not declare every bottled juice less sweet than fresh: taste your chosen juice. Regular lemon can replace Meyer at 1/2 oz. For less acid use 1/4 oz lemon, giving a 4.75 oz base; for a tarter version use 3/4 oz lemon, giving a 5.25 oz base.
Replace the 2 tablespoons sliced basil with the same volume washed sliced mint , Thai basil or cilantro. Replace 1 fluid ounce of pineapple juice with 1 fluid ounce pasteurized mango or passionfruit juice. Grapefruit juice can replace the 1/2 oz lemon. Optional 1 oz coconut water can replace the 1 oz soda, with less fizz. These are house flavor branches. Pineapple enzymes do not establish a special mechanism for carrying basil oil, and no fixed number of muddler presses guarantees lack of bitterness; press gently.
Eight-drink batch
Mix 16 fluid ounces vodka, 16 fluid ounces pineapple juice, 4 fluid ounces lemon juice and 16 dashes citrus bitters. Cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours. Prepare 24 tablespoons diced pineapple, 16 tablespoons sliced basil and 8 tablespoons cold syrup separately; wash produce and keep cut fruit cold. For each glass muddle 2 tablespoons pineapple with 1 tablespoon basil, and add 1 tablespoon syrup. Layer remaining 1 tablespoon pineapple and 1 tablespoon basil with ice. Shake one-eighth of the chilled liquid batch (4.5 oz plus bitters) with ice, strain into the glass, and optionally add 1 oz soda. Serve all 8 this way. This retains the single-drink method and needs exactly 8 tablespoons syrup. Cold base may be held 4 hours, or the muddled fruit /basil base 2 hours refrigerated, within the 24-hour house limit.
For an unshaken pitcher version add 4 fluid ounces cold water to the 36 oz liquid batch as a starting dilution and divide all into 8 portions. Muddle fruit/herb/syrup per glass and pour 5 oz liquid base over ice. This water amount is a house approximation, not identical to shaking; taste and adjust next time.
Alcohol-free version
For one glass omit vodka, use 3 fluid ounces pineapple juice, 1/2 oz lemon, 1 tablespoon syrup, 3 tablespoons pineapple and 2 tablespoons basil. Omit alcoholic bitters; optionally use 2 dashes a labeled 0.0% commercial citrus bitters. Muddle as above, shake only juice/lemon/optional bitters with ice, and strain over the fruit/ice. Add 1 oz soda after shaking. Makes 1 drink, 5 oz liquid plus bitters, pulp and ice; 10 minutes with cold syrup.
Refrigerate fresh bases and cut fruit promptly at 40 F (4 C) or below and use within 24 hours, a conservative house limit rather than a tested shelf life. Cool hot bases in shallow heat-safe containers or an ice-water bath, then refrigerate; do not wait for a large pitcher to reach room temperature on the counter. Keep cold servings on ice. Discard perishables after 2 hours without temperature control, or 1 hour above 90 F (32 C). Keep purchased milk, juice and syrup according to their labels, using the shorter limit. Wash produce under running water before cutting; discard rotten fruit.
The drink is adapted from Shanna, Pineapple and Coconut vodka pineapple basil smash . Its original large syrup batch uses a longer infusion; the smaller component here follows A Couple Cooks basil syrup . Allow the syrup infusion and cooling time when starting from scratch.
Preparation and handling references: FDA serving safe buffets , FDA juice safety .
