It's been a hot minute since I shared a cocktail. And also...it's hot. So we need a cocktail.
Even after making ALL THE PESTO, I'm still drowning in basil and since I love a little herb-y flavor in my cocktail I knew it was going to go straight into a drink.
Summer sangrias are some of my favorite cocktails to play with. I love making big pitcher-style drinks for parties, and while this is more of a two-step cocktail - in order to keep the sparkle in sparkling, you have to pour the prosseco in each individual glass - it's still the easiest way to entertain a crowd.
I'm going to keep things short and sweet today, but before I go here are just a few things about this sangria:
- I use store-bought lemonade because I didn't want to spend my entire day juicing lemons for this one. Most of the time fresh lemon juice is the way to go, but this is not necessarily one of those times (you're welcome!).
- I like to make a few strawberry lemonade ice cubes to have on hand when I serve this. Just chop up a handful of strawberries and put about a tablespoon in each ice cube mold. Fill with lemonade and freeze. It's a great way to keep your sangria cold without watering it down.
- If you want to do a non-alcoholic version, just forget the vodka and top the strawberry-basil lemonade with club soda or sparkling water. Even this way the drink gets better as it sits because the basil simple syrup melds with the strawberries - it's incredible.
So here's what I want you to do: Find a patio/balcony/roof, gather your most favorite people and drink this sparkling strawberry basil lemonade. This is literally what summer memories are made of. Go!
(Also yea, that was my version of "short and sweet." Sorry.)
Sparkling strawberry basil lemonade sangria
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 big bunch of basil
- 1 lb strawberries, sliced
- 1 lemon, sliced
- ½ cup vodka
- 2 cups lemonade
- 1 bottle prosecco
Instructions
- Make the basil simple syrup: Add water, sugar and basil to a small pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool completely and strain (I like to keep the basil leaves in while the syrup cools to get as much flavor out of it as possible).
- Add strawberries, lemon slices, vodka, lemonade and ½ cup of basil simple syrup to a large pitcher. Stir to combine. Let sit for at least an hour, or more if you can swing it. Before serving, taste and add more basil simple syrup if you’d like.
- To serve, pour into glasses and top with prosecco. Drop in a few strawberry-lemonade ice cubes or frozen strawberries to keep cool!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
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