frosé with fresh basil

Here is my summer dream: cool blue water, green, green trees, a forever blue sky.

What I never envisioned was a pink drink to go with it. Then I discovered this thing called frosé…aka frozen rosé. I read about it first in Bon Appetit then I started hearing everyone whisper frosé, frosé, frosé. Trapped as I was in the summer fog of San Francisco however, I was drinking more hot tea than slushie wine.

Then my dream came true. I was by a pool. I was near a patch of homegrown basil. I had a bottle of rosé on hand. I put it all together et voilà…my version of frosé. A couple of things to note: the darker the rosé, the pinker the frosé, so use one on the blushier side. And the better the wine, the better the drink, so buy a decent one. The basil plays up the herbal notes of the wine, but you don’t have to use it. If you want, you can substitute purchased simple syrup (which is just one part sugar to one part water, boiled). You can even play around with frozen strawberries to amp up the pink. But trust me: you want to include the pool. At least one from your dreams.

ingredients

1 cup rosé
4 tablespoons basil simple syrup (recipe below)
2 cups ice cubes
fresh basil sprigs

directions

Blend rosé, simple syrup, and ice in a blender until slushy. Pour into 2 glasses and garnish with fresh basil as you see fit. Sip by a pool.

basil simple syrup: Place 2 sprigs basil in a small heatproof bowl or glass measuring cup. In a small pan, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil, swirling pan until sugar melts and liquid is clear. Boil for 1 minute. Pour syrup over basil sprigs and let sit until cool; discard basil. Use syrup as directed. Refrigerate leftover syrup for up to 1 month.