Cucumber Mint Gimlet

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cocktail shaker
• •Muddler or wooden spoon
• •Fine mesh strainer
• •Jigger or measuring glass
• •Coupe glass or rocks glass

Instructions

1. 1

   Make honey simple syrup

   Combine equal parts local honey and warm water in a small jar, stirring until the honey dissolves completely. This keeps for two weeks refrigerated. You want honey from a beekeeper you trust, something that tastes like the flowers near where you live. The syrup should be golden and fragrant, not the neutral sweetness of processed sugar.

   Make a larger batch while you are at it. Honey syrup transforms iced tea, lemonade, and nearly any summer drink.
2. 2

   Muddle cucumber and mint

   Add cucumber slices and mint leaves to the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Press gently with a muddler or wooden spoon, just enough to release the juices and oils. You are coaxing flavor, not making paste. The cucumber should look bruised, the mint fragrant but not shredded. Overworking the mint turns it bitter.

3. 3

   Add remaining ingredients

   Pour in the gin, fresh lime juice, and honey syrup. The lime must be squeezed that moment, from fruit heavy in your hand. Bottled juice has no place here. Fill the shaker with ice until it reaches just above the liquid line.

4. 4

   Shake until frost forms

   Seal the shaker and shake vigorously for fifteen to twenty seconds. You want the outside of the shaker to feel painfully cold, frost forming on the metal. This chill is part of the drink. A gimlet served anything less than ice cold has missed the point.

   Count to fifteen in your head. Most people stop shaking too soon.
5. 5

   Strain and garnish

   Double strain through a fine mesh strainer into a chilled coupe glass or over fresh ice in a rocks glass. The double strain catches the cucumber pulp and mint fragments, leaving you with something clean and bright. Garnish with a thin cucumber ribbon or slice and a small sprig of mint. Let the green announce itself.

Chef Tips

• •Seek out English cucumbers or small Persian varieties from the farmers market. They have fewer seeds and thinner skins, which means cleaner flavor and less bitterness.
• •Chill your glass in the freezer for ten minutes before serving. A cold glass keeps the drink where it should be.
• •If your mint has started to wilt, stand the stems in cold water for thirty minutes. They will revive. But truly, snip fresh mint just before you make the drink. The oils are most alive then.
• •The honey matters. Wildflower honey from your region will taste different from clover honey or orange blossom, and that difference shows up in the glass.
• •In winter, when cucumbers are shipped from far away and taste like water, consider a different drink. Seasonality applies to cocktails too.

Advance Preparation

• •Honey simple syrup can be made up to two weeks ahead and stored refrigerated in a sealed jar.
• •Juice limes no more than an hour before serving. Fresh citrus degrades quickly once exposed to air.
• •Chill glasses in the freezer up to an hour before your guests arrive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)