Birth of a Cocktail: The Gin Basil Smash

Jörg Meyer, the owner of Le Lion in Hamburg, was inspired to create the Gin Basil Smash in 2008 after trying the Whiskey Smash, a cocktail by Dale DeGroff, a mentor bartender to many young mixologists, at Pegu Club. It’s a simple drink, basically a gin Mojito with muddled basil instead of mint. But that was enough to impress most of Europe and etch upon the bar’s exterior the proclamation, “Cradle of the Gin Basil Smash.”

From “11 Bars Where a Cocktail Was Born (or Raised)” by Robert Simonson for the New York Times, 2016; Photo by Hafen City Studios/Martin Haag

#cocktail #recipe #ginbasilsmash #lelion #gin #basil #whiskey #mojito #bartender #mixology #mixologist #birthofacocktail #origin #hamburg #germany #german #modern #classic #happyhour #speakeasy #drink #drinks #story #stories #thestorybar