Recipe by Nadia Tamby

This twist on a classic gimlet is the epitome of summer - the sweet juicy honeydew is a perfect contrast to tart -- almost grassy -- green tomatoes. Gins are distilled with various botanicals such as juniper berries, so using a fresh herb like basil is the perfect complement to those earthy spices. This is a great cocktail to make for a small crowd - you can prep all the ingredients the day before and serve it out of a pitcher. Save some of that tomato water - it's refreshing on it's own and makes for a great hangover cure!

Photo by Rick Cortez

Ingredients:

• 3 oz honeydew melon - green tomato water*
• 2 oz fresh lime juice
• 5 oz gin (The Botanist is what I used)
• 2 oz basil simple syrup*
• Fresh torn basil to garnish

Honeydew melon - green tomato water: Puree half a honeydew melon with the same volume of quartered green tomatoes (add a small amount of water to get your blender going, if needed)

Strain through a fine mesh sieve and chill until ready to use

Photo by Rick Cortez

Basil simple syrup: Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water and bring to boil

Remove from heat and add 1 cup of basil leaves (packed in tight) and cover for 10 minutes to let basil leaves steep

Pour syrup through a sieve to remove leaves

Instructions: Place all ingredients in shaker with ice and shake until frothy

Pour into glasses and garnish with basil

Photo by Rick Cortez