pitcher-style basil vodka greyhound
Easy, peasy, 4-ingredient-cocktail-and-no-grapefruit-squeezy.
Finishing off our summery cocktail series with a simple Labor Day pitcher that your guests will adore for the holiday weekend. What with the hurricane, this week was a doozy, and my brain had about as much space for extra content as my computer storage (which is to say, very few gigs). So a simple drink seemed appropriate before we start throwing pumpkin and apple cider into every which thing.
The greyhound cocktail is a slender, minimal drink, and is so easy to translate into a pitcher version. We spiff up the classic with a basil syrup for an earthy hint within the citrusy, boozy body. Take advantage of those beautiful herby leaves, yo. And that rando bottle of grapefruit juice that might be haunting your fridge like it was for me.
Bae-sil
I’ll be sad to see basil less frequently at the stores. I do tend to miss basil (and peaches) during the colder months. “Colder” months. Who the fuck am I kidding, I live in Florida.
I made this same basil syrup in my Fresh Basil Peach Lemonade, except here I concentrated the basil a bit more since I wanted the flavor to poke through the citrus.
Your only steps here: boil the sugar and water, drop in some basil, cover and steep. Discard the basil and let the syrup cool.
It’s Not a Grape, But It Is a Fruit
That’s one demented grape, if so.
I call for bottled grapefruit juice in this recipe. I’m normally a proponent of squeezing citrus fresh, but yo, four cups is an asston of grapefruit and I have neither the time nor the energy to fuss with that shit. Just do yourself a solid and buy a good-quality brand. I like Simply. If your grocery sells a cold-pressed version of their own, get that. Despite the bad rap bottled stuff generally has, there are some upstanding brands who actually give a bit of a damn what goes in their products.
The next component of the greyhound is vodka. Measure a big load of it into your pitcher along with the grapefruit juice and basil syrup. I like to add a couple grapefruit wedges as well to pretty up the drink, but if you plan to keep the pitcher for a few days in the fridge, I’d omit this part. Any citrus rind will make the drink very bitter if it sits too long in the liquid.
Stir everything up, then pop in the fridge at least an hour. Overnight if you have the time.
To serve, I like just a couple basil leaves and a grapefruit wedge to soak up some of that booze and makes for a nice little nibble at the end of my glass. A salt rim would make this drink more or less a “salty dog,” or a sugar rim. A sweet dog? I dunno.
If you’ve got a long weekend ahead of you, enjoy! I usually have Mondays off anyway, so it won’t be anything new for me. Except I miss out on holiday pay. Oh well.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
More ways to grapefruit:
Grapefruit Rosemary Spritz Mocktail
pitcher-style basil vodka greyhound
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup basil leaves, lightly packed
- 2 cups vodka
- 4 cups grapefruit juice, homemade or store bought
- fresh basil leaves and grapefruit wedges, for garnish
Instructions
- In a small sauce pot, bring the sugar and 1/3 cup of water to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and drop in the basil leaves. Cover and steep at least 5 minutes (I like to do 10). Strain out the basil and let the syrup cool.
- In a large pitcher or punch bowl, stir together the syrup, vodka, and grapefruit juice. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.
- Pour the chilled cocktail into glasses. Garnish with basil leaves and grapefruit wedges, as desired.
