Hello and happy Friday once again. We’re back to normal operations thankfully. Big thank you to Internet Dad for all the hard work moving us to a better and more stable hosting platform!

This week I was inspired to try my hand at creating my own spring-like beverage with a purchase of cucumbers from a recent shopping trip. I remembered that gin and cucumber tend to play nicely together, and I figured it had been a while since I made (or at least thought I made) my own concoction here. I went with a gin base, with some elderflower since I wanted a little more flavor and sweetness and I didn’t think plain simple syrup was enough. I also added a twist of black pepper on top for a little extra flavor.

2 oz. Gin

2/3 oz. Elderflower liqueur

1 slice cucumber, plus 1 for garnish

Add the elderflower and cucumber to a cocktail shaker & muddle together. Add gin & ice. Shake until cold, and strain into a chilled coupe. Top with a twist of black pepper and a cucumber slice

The nose is mostly cucumber, with a light floral note underneath as well. Very crisp and clean, no overt gin aromas so your face isn’t melted off with strong alcohol vapors

The sip is very clean and refreshing. The shaking got it extra cold, and that does wonders here. I get a lot of fresh cucumber flavor which is great here. Gin and cucumber play very well together.
The elderflower adds a deep floral flavor as well as sweetness to balance out the heavy gin base. Unfortunately I don’t get much pepper as I thought I would, which is a bit disappointing. I got most of the pepper at the bottom towards the end of the drink. I think this would benefit from a little spice in it. In the name of science, I made another one, and instead of topping with the ground pepper, I added it to the muddling process. I think it helped out a little bit but it was still lacking, and most of it came through towards the end of the drink itself. I’d like to figure out a better way to incorporate the pepper spice throughout the rest of the drink.

This is a good spring drink. Just strong enough to let you know there is booze in it, but cool and refreshing thanks to the cucumbers in it. I suppose you could save the muddling step if you have Hendrick’s gin on hand, but I would still muddle a slice of cucumber in the shaker. The extra flavor burst the cucumber brings is worth it.

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