Why it works: Basil and vodka work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and 35 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 1Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Hull the strawberries and cut them into quarters. Put them in a sturdy glass or shaker with the basil leaves and the honey.
Muddle gently for about 30 seconds until the strawberries are crushed and the basil is bruised but not shredded.
Add the lime juice and the vodka to the glass and stir well to dissolve the honey.
Pour the mixture through a fine strainer into a tall serving glass to remove the pulp and basil.
Top the glass with the soda water and stir gently once to combine.
Serve right away while the soda water is still bubbly.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Basil + vodkatop 16% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together35 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Basil + limetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together505 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Vodka + limetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Honey + limetop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together679 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Basil + honeytop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together236 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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