A Refined British Cocktail Recipe

Travel the world and you'd be hard-pressed to find a destination as elegant and plush as London's Hyde park-facing Dorchester Hotel. 

Like several luxury London hotels, the Dorchester boasts its own in-house, baby-faced floral designer Phil Hammond, whose sumptuous arrangements perfume the already rarefied air.

The hotel features a quintessential British tea served six times daily and showcasing a selection of custom teas, champagne, delicate sandwiches and a host of scones and exquisite pastries. Lingering over a cup of dozens of possible tea choices with growing notes describing a provenance on a Sri Lanka hillside or in India's Teesta Valley is a unique pleasure. Adding immeasurably to the experience is the prime people watching as you observe the fascinating comings and goings of high-powered businessmen ignoring their tea as they maneuver multiple cell phones and gaggles of giggling, Euro-chic teenagers sporting ropes of gold jewelry and designer bags. 

But if lingering over a cocktail is more your speed, the Dorchester features a selection of seasonal specialties including the Casanova, a summer blend of ripe strawberries and the unexpected, delightfully savory addition of fresh basil.

The Casanova

•  25 ml.  Aperol
•  25 ml. Punt e Mes Italian vermouth
• 10 ml. Crème de peche liqueur
•  1 or 2 large strawberries
•  2 basil leaves
•  Prosecco

Build in a large wine glass over ice cubes.

Cut the  strawberries in quarter and drop in the glass as well as the basil leaves.

Top with the prosecco and give a gentle stir.