Basil Seed, Rose & Elderflower Cooler

Difficulty: Easy

Serves 2

I’ve had basil seed drinks at vegan restaurants but traditionally these bevvies usually contain honey, so the pre-packaged ones at Asian groceries are usually a no-go for vegans. Bummer. The good news is that these little seeds are easy to pick up from your local Asian grocer too and since they only take about 10 minutes to make, you can use your stash to make one of these drinks quicker than it would take to go and buy one! Because basil seeds are so subtle in flavour, you can really combine them with any syrup you like but this time I’ve gone for rose and elderflower to send off summer in style (good riddance!)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon basil seeds
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons rose syrup (plus a little extra)
• 2 tablespoons elderflower syrup
• 2 cups chilled water
• Ice

Method

1. In a small cup, combine the basil seeds with the warm water and set aside to bloom for 10 minutes.
2. Add a little rose syrup to the bottom of two short glasses, this will give the cooler an ombré effect.
3. Pop the basil seeds, rose syrup, elderflower syrup, chilled water and ice to a cocktail shaker and shake it like a Polaroid picture.
4. Distribute evenly between the glasses and garnish as desired.
5. Serve immediately.

Looking for more drink recipes to impress at your next get together? Try my Basil-Granate, Grapefruit Gin + Tonic and The Perfect Vegan Amaretto Sour.