Cucumber and gin are a classic cocktail combination that haven’t gotten the attention they deserve. One good example is Pimm’s #1 cup, a gin-based concoction, which is often combined with some kind of cucumber. We’re fond of both gin and cucumber in our house and one of our favorite local restaurants, “Grasshopper” (now closed and replaced with the equally good Wood Tavern) served a gin and cucumber cocktail they called a “Water Lilly”. Luckily their bartender moved down the street to Pearl. You can probably get her to make one for you. Pearl (and the bartender) are worth a trip regardless of the availability of the Water Lilly.

We also had a great gin-cucumber cocktail at the St. Regis hotel in San Francisco. We forget what they called it, but it was fantastic. It was a combination of gin, cucumber “water” and rosemary-lemon grass simple syrup. We made some tonight and it definitely lived up to our memories…

• 3 parts gin (Boodles is the house gin)
• 1 part cucumber water
• 1 part rosemary-lemongrass simple syrup

Shake over ice and serve up with a slice of cucumber for garnish.

To make the cucumber water, puree a cucumber (or two, which we recommend because you’ll like the result) in a blender or food processor. You should peel the cucumber almost completely. If you want the drink to be bright green then leave a bit of cucumber peel (it doesn’t take much). If you want it pale green then remove all of the peel. Cut the cucumber into large pieces, drop in the food processor with 1/2 teaspooon of salt, and puree until it liquifies. Then strain the result for 30-60 miniutes to get the liquid and discard the solids.

To make the simple syrup, bring a cup of sugar and a cup of water to a gentle boil. Then add a couple of sprigs of rosemary, lightly crushed, and the smashed ends of three stalks of lemongrass. Let the rosemary and lemongrass steep in the simple syrup until it cools. You don’t really want to boil the rosemary or lemongrass…steeping them like a tea will do the trick.

This is a great St. Patrick’s day option. If you make the cucumber water with enough peel the cocktail will definitely be green. And it will taste far better than any Chartreuse-based cocktail or green beer. We expect to see a lot of folks drinking this next March.

Enjoy!

Michael and Shannon

cucumber image by Nick Atkins