Miss Mojito will be reunionizing with college friends in Charlottesville this weekend and has been in search of a dress, shoes and a c
ocktail to help prepare for the festivities.
Outfit Requirements: A fun, cool and casual dress (that’s long enough to hide the alarming sunburn marks that are still on both of my legs as a result of my Nags Head vacation over two weeks ago) was my number one requirement. My hope was to find a maxi dress that wasn’t too clingy to match with a pair of comfortable flats.
Outfit Results: I snagged a pearly pair of bone-colored, Pierre Du
mas thongs for a cool $24 at Richmond boutique Fab’rik. The flats are a perfect match for my turquoise maxi dress with a braided rope detail, but the best part is that I can pair them with tons of other summer-friendly outfits.
Cocktail Requirements: Blue and orange are the official colors of my alma mater, but I’m coming up empty on ideas for similarly colored cocktails with great flavors.
Cocktail Results: Since I’ve abandoned the color theme, I’m going to focus purely on taste with one of my favorite summer cocktails, the Basil Gimlet. Traditional versions often rely on Rose’s Lime Juice, but Miss Mojito prefers the fresh stuff instead – if you do have some Rose’s on hand, though, it can’t hurt to add a splash. Legend attributes the drink to Sir Thomas Gimlette, who apparently served the concoction to his shipmates in the late 19th century to promote health and prevent scurvy.
I first experienced this herbal version of the gin cocktail at Mas, a tapas restaurant in Charlottesville.
Basil Gimlet
Serves two
- In the bottom of a shaker, muddle 1 large handful of basil (torn), with 1 tablespoon superfine sugar using a muddler (or the back of a spoon as a backup).
- Add 1 ounce of lime juice, 1 ounce of grapefruit juice and 4 ounces of gin (preferably Tanqueray’s Rangpur version, which is a bit sweeter and has extra notes of citrus).
- Add ice and shake well. Strain and serve.
Posted by Miss Mojito.
Shoes & Cocktails 
Miss M, I LOVE the turquoise maxi dress and the very versatile t-straps.
And, if I wasn’t making Belmont Breezes this weekend, I would be making Basil Gimlets. You really seem to know gin, is Tanqueray’s Rangpur your fave–or, just fave for this cocktail?
Reporting back on the basil gimlet: sublime. Really, this has to be my favorite drink of the summer. Please try this cocktail as soon as possible. We made ourselves a pitcher and sipped them outside before dinner one evening.
I’m not sure if Rangpur is my favorite – in fact, we just used regular Tanqueray, since that’s what I had on hand, for the reunions version – but it’s definitely a nice, refreshing change of pace.
Miss M, dinner menu for tonight includes caprese salad, grilled chicken, and basil gimlets! I have lots of fresh basil in my garden, which has practically exploded due to all the rain, so I plan to make good use of it tonight!
dear miss m: i was delighted to read your blog about basil gimlets. yes, i love this drink so much i have instructed my staff to cut me off lest i drink too many too fast. we have used Rangpur for the gimlet as well as Plymouth but my favorite is a small-batch distillery out of Denver called Leopold Brothers. they also make exquisite absinthe and vodka.
their gin features lots of citrus oils in the form of Pommelos and really sweetens up this herbal elixir. also, in the summertime when you know you’ll be dwinking lots of adult beverages, go ahead and make yourself some simple syrup instead of using sugar dry (although i do like to mix up my sugars). saludos!
Tomas – Thanks for this recommendation! I’ll have to give Leopold Brothers a try.