Not every drink has a fancy, clever, or historical name. In fact, the vast majority of cocktails have no name and no recorded recipe. (I’m guessing that, in the collective archive of mixology, many amazing cocktail recipes were invented and then forgotten a few drinks later). Given the vast array of potential combinations of spirits, sugars, bitters, and all kinds of mixers – fruits and juices and vermouths and liqueurs and the like – this is no surprise. There are far more drinks out there than there are names for them, and that’s ok.* In that spirit, today’s cocktail recipe is a spin on one of our favorite cocktails that is delicious without a fancy new name: a Cucumber-Mint French Gimlet.
Illustration by Caitlin Keegan
Cucumber-Mint French Gimlet
2 oz Gin
1 oz St-Germain
1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1/4 oz Rich Simple Syrup
3-4 Cucumber Slices, Peeled
2 Bunches of Mint
Slap a bunch of mint like it said something fresh, then put it in the bottom of a rocks glass. Don’t muddle it! Fill the glass with crushed ice. In a cocktail shaker, combine the gin, St-Germain, juice, syrup, and cucumber. Muddle the cucumber really well (make sure you peel it first, or else the drink will be heavily dominated by the peel’s vegetal flavor), then shake everything with ice. Pour everything through a strainer into the glass, then garnish with more slapped mint and enjoy.
As I’ve said before, gin’s foral and botanical flavors pair really well with St-Germain‘s floral fruitiness. Both work really well with cucumber, mint, and lime, so let’s throw everything together into a delicious and very refreshing drink that is perfect for this emerging Spring we’re starting to see.
*This is the philosophy our one of our favorite DC bars, The Passenger, where there is no cocktail menu. Instead, there are bartenders who concoct drinks on the spot based on your mood or whim. Works for me.
Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper
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