Name: Spicy Mocktail with Thai Basil and Cucumber
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1 cup sugar; 2 cups water, divided; 2-3 Thai spur chilies, sliced; 1 large cucumber; 1/2 cup packed Thai basil leaves; 6oz cucumber juice; 1.5oz simple syrup; 3oz non-alcoholic gin, tequila, or vodka; Juice of 1 lime; Thai basil leaves and Thai chilies for garnish

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This Spicy Thai Basil and Cucumber Mocktail (or cocktail) was inspired by Season 3 of The White Lotus on HBO! Using Thai Red Chilies to infuse some heat into a simple syrup and Thai Basil to infuse the cucumber water with some bright herbs, this drink transports you right to The White Lotus (or… the Four Seasons) in Thailand! While this drink is made without alcohol, it can pair perfectly with gin, tequila, or vodka!

a martini glass with a refreshing mocktail made with thai basil, cucumber juice, lime juice, thai red peppers and a spicy thai pepper simple syrup

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My partner and I decided to have a little Thai-inspired dinner party for the Season 3 finale of The White Lotus a few weeks ago, so I created a menu featuring a main dish (pad kee mao, or Drunken Noodles), a refreshing resort-inspired drink (this spicy Thai basil mocktail), and a delicious dessert (mango sticky rice). Every recipe was SO delicious that we made each recipe multiple times that week, and now they’ve become staples in our household.

Spicy Thai Basil and Cucumber Cocktail (without alcohol!)

I stopped drinking alcohol in 2020. I have an interesting relationship with alcohol; I was a heavy drinker in college and partied A LOT. In grad school, I still drank heavily once in a while, but I was starting to become more concerned with saving money, so my parting days started to wane. I was a horrible drunk in college, though. In retrospect, it was clear that I was drowning my feelings in alcohol and didn’t realize how much I needed therapy then.

Once I moved to Los Angeles, the cost of a cocktail at a bar is what got me to start cutting back, but it wasn’t until the early pandemic when I reevaluated my relationship with booze. I was having a virtual wine night, drank 3/4 of a bottle all by myself, and had a raging hangover for two days.

After that, I started to cut back drastically. I’d only have 1-2 drinks when out with friends. Then I realized I didn’t want to spend $40+ each weekend on something that I don’t need or want. So I stopped some time in 2021. And I’ll never look back!

The only occasion I will ever drink is if I’m on vacation in a foreign country and it’s part of a cultural experience. I have taken a shot of Moonshine in Costa Rica, I have enjoyed an Aperol Spritz in Portugal, and if I ever end up at The White Lotus, you bet I’ll enjoy a fancy cocktail on the Italian coast, but I will never order a beer in the US.

The only thing I miss about alcohol is the craft cocktails, so I’ve started experimenting with my own mocktail recipes at home. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get notified when more mocktail recipes are published!

Why you’ll love this spicy mocktail recipe

It’s SO refreshing! Cucumber juice is incredibly hydrating, so this makes for a refreshing beverage on a hot day!
It’s got a kick. If you make this recipe exactly as I have it published, it should be just enough heat to add some dimension to your drink without being SO spicy that you cough after every sip. You can adjust the amount of Thai red chilies you use in your simple syrup and garnish to make it even spicier!
It’s great for the sober and sober-curious. Mocktails are a great way to still participate in the ritual of drinking, without the alcohol and the hangover! If you’re sober or living a sober-curious lifestyle, this recipe is great for you!

Ingredients for this Spicy Mocktail

Cucumber. Use a regular, large cucumber for this recipe.
Thai basil. If you don’t have access to Thai basil, you can always use regular basil.
Limes. A little lime juice goes a long way!
Thai chilies. This is what adds some heat to your simple syrup, and you’ll use a few slices as a garnish, too.
Sugar. Every simple syrup needs equal parts water and sugar!
Non-alcoholic spirits. I used Ritual Zero Proof Non-Alcoholic Gin, but you can use non-alcoholic tequila, too!

How to Make this Spicy Mocktail

Make the simple syrup. Combine equal parts water and sugar along with 2 slices Thai red chilies in a saucepan. Whisk until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the liquid thickens slightly. Strain into a glass jar and let it cool to room temperature.
Make the cucumber juice. If you are lucky enough to own a juicer, it’s totally acceptable to use that! I do not own a juicer, so I add my cucumber (chopped into pieces with the skin on) into a blender with about 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth, then use a fine mesh strainer to strain the pulp from the juice.
Blanch the Thai basil. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, set aside a bowl with ice water. Remove the Thai basil leaves from the stems and add them to the pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove the basil and immediately drop it into some ice water for 2 minutes.
Blend the Thai basil with cucumber juice. Pour the cucumber juice back into the blender and add the blanched Thai basil. Blend until smooth, then pass through the fine mesh strainer again.
Mix the mocktail. In a cocktail shaker, add ice cubes, then pour in 6oz of the cucumber juice, 1.5 oz simple syrup, 3oz non-alcoholic gin, and the juice of 1 lime. Cover and shake, then strain into martini glasses. Garnish with Thai basil leaves and sliced Thai red chilies.

water, sugar, and thai red chiles simmering in a pot to make a thai chile simple syrup — Add water, sugar, and thai chiles to a pot and stir. Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer for about 10 minutes or until deeper in color and slightly thickened. It will thicken as it cools, too.

adding cucumber to a blender — Cut a cucumber into sections and place in a blender.

pouring water into a blender with chopped cucumber — Add water to the blender, then blend the cucumber and water until smooth.

straining blended cucumber and water through a fine mesh strainer — Strain the cucumber juice through a fine mesh strainer into a container. Discard the pulp.

thai basil being blanched in a pot of boiling water — Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add Thai basil leaves and blanch for 30 seconds.

blanched thai basil in an ice water bath — Transfer the blanched Thai basil to a bowl of ice water.

adding blanched thai basil to a blender with cucumber juice — Pour the cucumber juice back into the blender along with the Thai basil. Blend until smooth, then strain through the mesh strainer again.

cucumber juice, thai chili simple syrup and a lime — Pour the cucumber juice into a container, and strain the Thai chili syrup into another container.

pouring cucumber juice into a cocktail shaker — Add ice to a cocktail shaker along with cucumber juice.

adding non alcoholic gin into a cocktail shaker — Add non alcoholic vodka or gin to the cocktail shaker.

adding thai chili simple syrup into a cocktail shaker — Add simple syrup to the cocktail shaker.

squeezing lime juice into a cocktail shaker — Squeeze lime juice into the cocktail shaker, then add the lid and shake.

straining a thai basil cucumber mocktail into a glass — Strain the mocktail into a glass.

a martini glass with a refreshing mocktail made with thai basil, cucumber juice, lime juice, thai red peppers and a spicy thai pepper simple syrup — Garnish the mocktail with slices of Thai chiles and Thai basil.

Recipe Variations and Substitutions

Add alcohol. You can add tequila, rum, gin, or vodka to this drink!
Use easily-accessible ingredients. Especially if you live in a small town far from a major metropolitan area, you may not have an Asian market from which you’d source the Thai basil and chilies. You can use regular basil instead of Thai basil, and substitute the chilies with jalapeños instead!

Storing Ingredients

The simple syrup can be stored in an airtight container or glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 to 2 weeks. Cucumber juice can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and is best used within 1-2 days. You can freeze cucumber juice for up to a month but it may slightly affect the taste.

FAQs

What is Thai basil?

Thai basil is a basil varietal with hints of anise and a little bit of spice. It is most often used as an aromatic in curries and South Asian dishes, like drunken noodles. Thai basil has a purple stem with sturdy, serrated leaves. The Thai basil leaves hold up better than sweet basil leaves, so they’re often used in stir fries, while sweet basil leaves are more delicate and used in sauces or as a garnish. Sweet basil (the kind you often find at a regular grocery store) can be used in a pinch as a substitute for Thai basil in this mocktail, but if you are able to find Thai basil at an Asian market, it is certainly worth the trip!

What are Thai red chilies?

There isn’t actually one Thai chili pepper! There are over 79 varietals of Thai chilies. The smaller Thai red chili peppers are much spicier than the larger, milder red chili peppers. I used the larger ones (Thai spur chilies) for this recipe because I do not have a palate made for intense heat, and I wanted the perfect balance of sweet to heat. But if you can handle some serious spice, go ahead and try this recipe with the smaller Thai red chili varietal!

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