Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Vodka Cocktails

Provence Cooler

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Liquor.com
Liquor.com

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Updated 12/20/22
Provence Cooler
Image:

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The Provence Cooler comes from New York bartender Auriela Nossa, who combines vodka with fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, basil, blackberries and rosé. She originally made the cocktail with Aylesbury Duck vodka, but if you can’t find that, don’t fret—you can easily sub in your favorite vodka for equally good results.

Beyond just combining ingredients, Nossa muddles a blackberry with the vodka, lemon and sugar, infusing the fruit’s sweet and tart flavor into the liquid ingredients. The basil is added directly into the shaker, lending its green herbaceous notes to the cocktail. Finally, the cooler features a healthy pour of rosé, which is always a fine idea when crafting summer drinks.

“This is a light and refreshing cooler that has enough oomph with the vodka but is still sessionable,” says Nossa. “The wine I use is from our family friend Richard Betts, but this cocktail would be awesome with most rosés.” That wine is the French rosé from My Essential Wine, if you’re able to source a bottle.

Try it out with various types of rosé and see what you like, and while you do, enjoy the nuances of the blackberry and basil, which help to brighten this warm-weather drink. Served in a tall glass filled with ice, the Provence Cooler can be enjoyed after a long day outdoors, at your next al fresco soirée, or anytime you want a refreshing but interesting cocktail.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 ounce vodka

  • 1/2 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed

  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup

  • 1 blackberry

  • 2 basil leaves

  • 3 ounces rosé

  • Garnish: basil leaf

  • Garnish: blackberry

Steps

  1. Add the vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup into a shaker.

  2. Add the blackberry and muddle.

  3. Add the basil leaves and ice and shake vigorously until well-chilled.

  4. Add the rosé to the shaker, then strain over fresh ice into a Collins glass.

  5. Garnish with a basil leaf and skewered blackberry.