I was going through cocktail recipes that did not make my first book and I came across this delightful cocktail, that is perfect for Summer and Early Fall. It can be made with either Gin or Vodka. Enjoy
Ingredients
The Mixer
1 ½ packed cups fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup hot water
2 English cucumbers, ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, scrubbed and chopped
1 lime, plus more as needed
The Cocktail
1 jigger of Gin or Vodka
Crushed ice
Cucumber Agua Fresca
Lime slice garnish
Mint Garnish
Copper Mug or High Ball Glass
Directions
The Mixer
In a medium bowl, combine the mint leaves, sugar, and salt, and crush them all together using a fork or the back of a wooden spoon just until the mint is bruised. Pour in the hot water, and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Allow the mixture to steep for 5 minutes while you prepare the cucumbers.
Combine the cucumbers and ginger in a blender. Zest the lime right over the blender, then halve it and squeeze in its juice. Pour in 1 cup room-temperature water and purée on high until smooth. Pour the purée through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing lightly on the solids with a spatula to extract the liquid. Discard the solids and pour the agua fresca into a medium pitcher.
Pour the mint syrup through the same strainer into a container, pressing on the leaves to extract the liquid. Add ¼ cup strained syrup to the agua fresca. Taste and add more syrup or more lime juice to taste. Cover any leftover syrup and refrigerate for another use.
The Cocktail
Fill mug or glass with ice, add Gin or Vodka, stir, fill with the Cucumber Agua Fresca, stir garnish. Now you could only fill with the Cucumber Agua Fresca two-thirds the way up in the mug or glass and top off with seltzer.