Simply Refreshing Cucumber Gin Gimlet Recipe

Ingredients

• 3-4 cucumber slices
• 2 ounces gin
• ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• ½ ounce simple syrup
• Ice
• Cucumber wheel for garnish

Instructions

1. Chill a martini glass or coupe.
2. In a cocktail shaker, muddle cucumber slices and splash of simple syrup.
3. Add ice, gin, lime juice, and remaining simple syrup.
4. Shake to chill.
5. Strain into chilled glass.
6. Garnish with cucumber wheel.

Variations and Substitutions

There's no firm recipe for a cucumber gin gimlet, which means you can play around with ingredients and proportions while keeping the root of the cocktail intact.

• Use more cucumbers for a stronger cucumber flavor.
• Infuse gin with cucumber slices, allowing the flavors to mingle for a minimum of 24 hours.
• Add more lime juice for a tarter flavor, but use more simple syrup for a sweeter taste.
• Hendricks gin has cucumber forward notes that would shine best out of all the gins.
• If Hendricks gin isn't for you, try out different types of gin to find one you like best in your cucumber gin gimlet; London dry, Plymouth, Old Tom, and genever all offer unique and distinctive flavors.

Garnishes

A cucumber wheel is the most traditional of the cucumber gin gimlet garnishes, but you can get as crafty as you want. Or you can play it safe and keep it conservative.

• You can get creative and peel a cucumber to make a ribbon. You can swirl this in the glass or make a wave design by piercing it onto a cocktail skewer.
• Pierce several cucumber chunks or irregularly cut pieces onto a cocktail skewer.
• The cucumber slice can either be floated in the martini or garnished on the glass by making a small cut into the wheel.
• Cut a cucumber wedge for a thicker cucumber garnish.
• Skip the cucumber in favor of a lime garnish or use both in combination. Use a lime wheel, wedge, or slice.
• A lime peel or ribbon adds a bright green flash of color to the simple cocktail.

About the Cucumber Gin Gimlet

Gin and cucumber are a well-matched pair--think of the cucumber martini, but these two flavors are most famously linked together in Hendricks gin. While the classic gin gimlet has been kicking around since the mid-1900s, a modern twist and fitting upgrade with the addition of cucumber livens up the drink. The cucumber gin gimlet offsets the bitterness of the lime with a cooling, crisp, and earthy flavor, tempering the lime just enough.

Cucumber gimlets are most fitting in the summer or end of summer when cucumbers have taken over your garden or you have a friend who is looking to offload their supply. Whether you opt to muddle your cucumber or patiently infuse your own gin, the cucumber gimlet screams summertime. The perk to putting in the hard work to muddle the cucumber will yield you a gorgeously green-hued cocktail, sure to make you the envy of the neighborhood.

Summer Cucumber Gimlet Lovin'

While cucumber does help to riff on the feel of summer, this green cucumber gin gimlet will be just as fitting curled up on a couch under warm blankets. Like the inclusion of the flavor of cucumber itself, however you choose to approach and enjoy this cocktail is perfect. And if you're not in the mood for gin, then perhaps one of these cucumber vodka drinks will suit you better.