This bright and summery lemon basil vodka martini is a mouthwatering blast of fresh lemon, vodka and basil! Inspired by the plentiful bright green herbs in our garden, this refreshing martini is bright, balanced, and delicious.
Make a lemon martini with Fresh Garden Basil
This page contains affiliate links which allow me to earn small commissions from qualifying purchases of fun and favorite products at no cost to you.
Fresh basil has a wonderful fragrance that is sweet, almost licorice like yet it gives off spice notes so it comes off as both fresh and green but also warm and welcoming. I thought this would make a beautiful cocktail with fresh ingredients that I could pair with lemon and…well… why not? Vodka. Here’s how to put together this zesty fresh basil martini.
1. Make A Lemon Sugar martini cocktail Rim
Zest a lemon with a citrus zester and add it to a small bowl with some sugar. Combine with a fork and then spread onto a wide plate. Rub the rim of your martini glass with a lemon wedge and dip into the lemon zest sugar to create a rim. Set it in the freezer to chill while we make the cocktail…
If you’re in need of martini glasses that never fail, be sure to grab a set of these stemless martini glasses! They make an easy and elegant vessel for this delicious fresh basil cocktail!
2. Muddle Fresh Basil for your Lemon Basil Martini
In a cocktail shaker, muddle fresh basil leaves until bruised and fragrant.
3. Add Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, and Vodka
Add lemon juice, simple syrup, and vodka to the cocktail shaker with the muddled basil.
4. Add Liqueur for an elegant cocktail touch
Add a splash of Apologue herbal Celery Root Liqueur to the shaker and fill it up halfway with ice. Put on the lid and shake vigorously for 35 to 40 seconds until everything is ice cold and combined.
5. Strain And Serve your lemon basil martini
Strain the mixture into your chilled martini glass and serve ice cold. Garnish with a lemon twist or float a basil leaf on top.
Apologue Celery Root Liqueur
I have an amazing trio of liqueurs from the Chicago-based Apologue Liqueurs that included their Celery Root Liqueur and I knew that fresh basil would compliment this sooooooo well… The celery root liqueur has a bright herbal quality to it so I was particularly excited about pairing it with fresh basil. The licorice notes of the basil play off of the fennel notes in the liqueur and sort of become one. It makes a very tasty addition to this fresh basil-infused lemony martini.
Related: Tasty Garden Fresh Cocktails!
enjoy the easiest Fresh Lemon Basil Martini
It just doesn’t get more refreshing than this simple yet vibrant lemon basil cocktail. It’s like a bright, herbaceous glass of sunshine. Who could miss out on a cocktail like that? It just screams summer.
I hope you enjoy all the vibrant lemony notes and herbal qualities of this tasty lemon basil martini. If you love lemon drop martinis, trust me when I say this will be right up your alley! Consider it more of a basil lemon drop cocktail. It’s one of my favorite cocktails here on the blog and when I make it, I enjoy it ’til the last drop!
If you love zippy lemon cocktails like this one, then try a super vibrant and refreshing lemon and rum cocktail or a refreshing pink silk lemon martini…
Lemon Basil Martini Vodka Cocktail
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 oz Simple Syrup - equal parts water/sugar heated to combine
- 3/4 oz Lemon Juice - fresh squeezed
- 1/2 oz Apologue Celery Root Liqueur
- 2 oz Vodka
- 1 tbsp Sugar - for sugared rim on glass
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest - for sugared rim on glass
Instructions
- Zest lemon and collect in a small bowl. Add sugar to same bowl and stir with a fork until just combined. Sprinkle onto a small flat plate.
- Rub with rim of a martini glass with a lemon wedge and dip it into the lemon zest sugar to rim it. Set in the freezer to chill.
- In a cocktail shaker, add basil leaves and muddle until fragrant.
- Add simple syrup, lemon juice, liqueur and vodka.
- Top off with ice and shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker until chilled through and combined. about 35 to 40 seconds.
- When ready to serve, grab chilled martini glass. Strain cocktail mixtre into your prepared martini glass and garnish with lemon twist and basil leaf.
looks yummy!!