I like Sourland Mountain Spirits. I took a tour of the distillery shortly after opening to the public and I was impressed by the distiller's expertise and attention to quality. I uploaded photos from the even back in March but never got around to writing a blog post about it. With this post, I have repurposed those photos.
I love blueberries. I like eating them a handful at a time. For me, it’s the best low-glycemic-index snack. My daughter loves them too. She eats them by the carton. I recently learned that the blueberry is New Jersey’s state fruit. I thought that was cranberries. Scratched head. I'm sure I can find a recipe for gin and cranberry juice.

Sourland Mountain Spirits recently posted a recipe for a Blueberry Basil Gin Fizz on Facebook and I wanted to try it. I bought fresh blueberries from Von Thun Farms at the Montgomery Friends of Open Space Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and used fresh basil from my garden planter. I bought two cartons of blueberries. One for me and one for my daughter.
I combined the fish lime juice, simple syrup, blueberries and basil in a shaker and muddle the ingredients. That’s a fancy cocktail word for “mix up.” I think doing the muddling in a shallow bowl might be easier than doing it in the shaker. I think I’ll try that next time. After you’ve given your wrist some exercise, add the gin and ice to the shaker. Shake, shake, shake Senora1 and strain into a glass with ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a basil leaf or not. Sip. Relax. Enjoy.
Sourland Mountain Spirits Gin and Blueberry Basil Fizz Cocktail

I love blueberries.
Ingredients
- 10 blueberries from Von Thun Farms
- 2 basil leaves from my garden
- 2 ½ oz Sourland Mountain Spirits Gin purchased at Brick Farm Tavern
- ½ oz lime juice
- ½ oz simple syrup
- club soda
Directions
I combined the fish lime juice, simple syrup, blueberries and basil in a shaker and muddle the ingredients. That’s a fancy cocktail word for “mix up.” I think doing the muddling in a shallow bowl might be easier than doing it in the shaker. I think I’ll try that next time. After you’ve given your wrist some exercise, add the gin and ice to the shaker. Shake, shake, shake Senora[^1] and strain into a glass with ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a basil leaf or not. Sip. Relax. Enjoy.
- I couldn’t help myself but I think Harry Belafonte prefers rum. ↩