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Photo Credit: Sara Remington

It's gift-giving time and party time all in one. Consider this gift as "summer in a glass"—an easy-to-make combo of blended, strained blueberries and blackberries, given an herbal twist with basil-infused simple syrup. To add a cool touch, as well as whimsy and fun, to a backyard party, blend this margarita base together with premium silver tequila and a touch of Cointreau in an ice-cream maker. The results are berrylicious—an adult slushie—reading for a chilled margarita glass rimmed with sugar and garnished with a wheel of lime.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Makes two (3/4-liter) jars of margarita purée; each jar is enough for four margaritas

Wash the jars in hot, soapy water and dry thoroughly. Alternatively, run the jars through the regular cycle of your dishwasher; wash the rubber gaskets by hand.

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the basil, decrease the heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. Using a fine-mesh strainer, strain the simple syrup into a blender. Discard the basil.

Add the blueberries, blackberries, and lime and lemon juices to the blender. Holding the blender lid securely in place, blend the mixture on high speed until puréed. Using a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl, strain the berry purée to remove all the seeds.

Using a rubber spatula, press down to extract all the purée. Discard the seeds.