I love the fresh flavor of cucumber water that you get in hotel lobbies. When I heard that restaurants are now allowed to deliver alcoholic cocktails I thought what would love to drink? The cucumber cosmo at Fig and Olive but the restaurant is closed right now. I absolutely love cucumber cocktails and I figured this is something I could make myself. At the bar this cocktail would be $16 plus tip. I spent $70 on the two full size bottles of St. Germain and Effen Vodka. If you do the math, 4 cocktails would equal $70 at the bar. I made 3 drinks and used less than a fourth of the bottles.
St. Germain is an Elderflower liqueur that adds a sweet floral taste to drinks. It's made from a flower that grows in the French Alps in the springtime. Effen used to be partly owned by 50 Cent but he sold his share and the brand's instagram page hasn't been updated since last year. The vodka is super smooth, cool, and crisp. The cucumber flavor doesn't taste artificial or sugary. It actually tastes like it was infused with slices of cucumber in the bottle. You can also use cucumber vodka in your Moscow Mules or Bloody Marys. You can also mix the cucumber vodka with some soda water and lime.
It's important to use a good quality vodka so that your drink is smooth and all the reviews I found said that Effen had the best cucumber flavor vodka. I love the sleek design of the Effen bottle. I could not even taste the vodka in this cocktail. But if you want a strong drink, I recommend adding more vodka to it. I hope you enjoy this refreshing cocktail. I found it didn't need any sweetener because the St. Germaine makes it sweet. Cucumbers promote hydration so that is a perfect compliment to alcohol.
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 limes
- 2 cucumbers
- 1.5 oz of Effen cucumber vodka (a little less than ¼ cup)
- ½ cup St. Germain
Directions:
- Peel the skin of 1 cucumber, scoop out the seeds with an ice cream scoop, chop into a few smaller pieces and put into a blender. You don't have to drain it through a sieve because the pulp adds a nice foam to the drink.
- Slice the other cucumber for garnish.
- Add the juice of the limes, the vodka and St. Germain to the blender.
- Pour into a glass.
I didn't use ice because I keep my vodka in the freezer and chill the St. Germain in the fridge a few hours before I use it. You could also chill your martini glass in the freezer.
A nice addition is to add some watermelon, blackberries or mint to the drink. I tried 4 blackberries and that was perfect. You could garnish with the cucumber shaved into long strips.
You can put this mixed drink in the fridge for an hour if you want to drink it later.
Kate Hudson just came out with her own brand of vodka last year. I can't seem to find it anywhere, but am hoping it will be more widely released later.
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