Margaritas with Lemon and Basil

What I love most about this recipe is that the basil leaves that go into the cocktail shaker don't have to be pretty ones. If you get a batch of basil and some of the leaves are all bruised, you can totally put those into the shaker. Use any nicer leaves for serving in the glass.

1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 medium lemon
8 big fresh basil leaves, divided
1 oz (2 Tbsp.) agave syrup (you can use honey but the flavour overpowers a bit)
1 oz (2 Tbsp.) gold tequila

Pour the salt onto a dinner plate. Cut a little wedge out of the lemon. Cut a slit in the pulp. Run the slit around the rim of a wide-mouthed glass (a martini glass or a small tumbler work well) so that the rim is moistened with lemon juice. Dip the rim of the cup into the salt on the plate, twisting the glass around until there's a nice coating all around the rim.

Into a bowl, squeeze all the juice out of the remainder of the lemon. Measure 1 ounce of juice into a cocktail shaker. Use your fingers to tear 6 of the basil leaves into the shaker. Add the agave syrup. Muddle everything around for at least a minute. Go on and pummel and bruise the basil leaves, really extracting all their flavour.

Add the tequila and stir it around a bit. Add 1 cup of ice. Put the lid on the shake it. Sh-sh-shake it.

Fill the salt-rimmed glass with ice. Tear in the remaining two basil leaves. Strain the tequila mixture over top of the basil and ice.

Makes 1 serving.