Have some blackberries floating around in your fridge? Make this blackberry basil bourbon smash! It's full of summer flavors like lemon and basil, and is the perfect balance of sweet and sophisticated. It's sweetened with honey, so there are no refined sugars, and it's super refreshing and delicious.

This is the perfect drink for summer. Make it for yourself, or mix up a pitcher of it for a summer BBQ. It's sure to impress all of your friends. Looking for other cocktail recipes? Try our skinny orange grapefruit margarita or holiday rum punch. Need something without alcohol--we have mocktails too. Our coconut water mocktail is my personal favorite.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Blackberries
- Fresh basil
- Bourbon whiskey
- Honey
- Lemon
- Soda water
See recipe card for amounts.
Instructions
Add blackberries and basil leaves to the bottom of a cocktail glass and use a cocktail muddler to muddle (crush) the berries and basil into a fine pulp. If you don't have a muddler, you can use the tip of the handle on a wooden spoon.
Next, make the honey simple syrup. In a separate small bowl or glass, combine boiling water and honey and mix until the honey is dissolved. Then add the simple syrup to the glass with the blackberries.
Add the bourbon and lemon juice to the glass and stir with a spoon. Then add ice and top the glass off with soda water.
Garnish with blackberries and basil leaves and serve!
Variations
- Use lime juice instead of lemon juice
- Use regular simple syrup instead of honey
- Replace the blackberries with raspberries
- Swap the basil out for mint
- Don't like bourbon? Try gin or vodka instead
Frequently asked questions
That's totally fine! Before you add the club soda, use a fine mesh strainer to filter out the bits of blackberry and basil.
Yes! Replace the bourbon with lemonade for a great mocktail option. My pregnant wife loves it.
Yes! Try gin or vodka instead of bourbon.
Sure! Multiply the recipe by the number of people you plan on serving and make it in a pitcher instead of a glass. Add the club soda and ice to each person's glass as you serve it (otherwise the club soda will be flat and the ice will water it down).
Comments
No Comments