It has been an incredibly busy summer so far, with not a lot of time for cocktail experimentation, but I recently grew some lime basil in my garden and had a 1/2 open bottle of red wine on my counter, and thus, the Solstice Cocktail was created!

As you can probably guess, this happened the week of summer solstice, so you know, aptly named. 🙂

It ended up being super delicious and incredibly summery, while also incorporating interesting layers of flavor. And, I am going to toot my own horn here — absolutely gorgeous to take photos of.

Here is the recipe, and I hope you’ll try this one at home.

The Solstice Cocktail 
by Ritual & Craft

1.5 oz Beehive Organic Vodka
1 oz Breckenridge Bitter
.5 oz Lime Basil Simple Syrup
.5 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz light red wine (like a pinot noir)
2 fresh raspberries
1 lime slice
fresh bunch of lime basil

Simple syrup: combine equal parts sugar and water over heat. Add a 5-6 fresh lime basil leaves and 2-3 fresh lime slices. Bring to a boil, then stir over reduced heat until all combined. Strain into a mason jar. Will last 2 – 3 weeks in the fridge.

To make: in a shaker, combine vodka, bitter, lime juice, and lime basil syrup. Shake over ice.

In your rocks glass, muddle 2 fresh raspberries and then add ice. Pour shaker ingredients over ice.

To add the red wine float, pour the red wine directly over the back of a bar spoon. This allows the wine to sit on top of the portion of the cocktail you have already pours.

Garnish with a slice of lime, raspberry, and lime basil leaf.

Note: lime basil leaves are smaller and produce a flavor that is less earthy and a little more sweet. You could totally sub out lime basil for regular basil – you’d just get a slightly more herbal cocktail.

Hope you guys like this one! I LOVED it!

Cheers, XO