Terrace Tonic

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Sometimes, a refreshing cocktail is all you need to set things right. I woke up in a frantic state this morning. I hate it when that happens. Everything else went fine today, but because it started out stressfully, I felt I deserved a nice cocktail when I came home. Call me selfish, but that's the way it is. Fortunately, when I came home this afternoon, I was greeted by warm, glorious sunshine reflecting off the Tamagawa River and showing off the beautiful mountains in the distance. Perfect weather, I thought, for a cocktail.

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However, I didn't want just any cocktail. I wanted something clean, refreshing, summery but not overly sweet. After a lot of thinking, I decided to utilize some of the basil plants I recently purchased. I can do without a lot of things, but fresh basil is not one of them. I love...LOVE...fresh basil. Seriously, I don't know what I would do without it. So, I started thinking about how I could incorporate basil into cocktail form. My mom's favorite cocktail is a Gin and Tonic and my Grandma Cahill's favorite is a Vodka Tonic. I have grown to love these as well. I also love Mojitos. So, I decided to get creative with the ingredients from these refreshing drinks to create something new.


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Creativity began flowing. A little lemon zest, sugar and chopped basil leaves and nearly 2 shots of vodka crushed in the bottom of my glass made for a flavorful base. Top it off with some ice cubes and tonic water and you've got one delicious aperitif in your hand!
The name of this cocktail, if it wasn't already pretty obvious, came from the title of this blog. Aside from the Wasabi Spiked Bloody Mary, this is the first cocktail I have really developed for Tokyo Terrace. This drink is best enjoyed on a deck (or terrace, if you will) so it is appropriately named the Terrace Tonic.

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Terrace Tonic
makes 1 cocktail

1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon chopped basil leaves
2 shots vodka
Tonic Water
Ice cubes

Combine the sugar, zest, basil leaves and vodka in the bottom of a glass. Using a spoon, smash the ingredients together to release and meld the flavors. Add the ice cubes and top with the tonic water. Garnish with a slice of lemon.