8 Cucumber Cocktail Recipes For The Uber Cool!

With the summer heat blasting on everything with or without a pulse, the mind often wanders to simpler days when spiced cucumber would be a salve to the rising mercury. Simpler times could be helped with simple remedies. Now, times have changed, and modern problems require boozy solutions. Everyone’s a sucker for nostalgia though, so let’s make the solutions cucumber flavored!

8 Cucumber Cocktails To Cool Your Summers

1. Cucumber & Rose Collins
2. El Pepino
3. Cucumber Gimlet
4. Kentucky Maid
5. Cucumber Cleanse
6. Kew Garden
7. Green Beast
8. Hello, Sun

1. Cucumber & Rose Collins

Meet the coolest member of the “Collins Family” of cocktails. This light, lemony, drink is sure to make you chill, without needing any pills. (Unless you like this drink a little too much, in which case you might need some aspirin the morning after.) Coupled with the floral sweetness of rose syrup and with the spicy richness of gin, you will be in freshtown, and you will be its mayor!

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. of gin
• 1.5 oz. of cucumber juice
• 0.75 oz. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 0.5 oz. of rose syrup
• Cucumber slice to garnish

How To Make Cucumber and Rose Collins Cocktail

1. Combine the cucumber juice, lemon juice, gin, and rose syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well until chilled.
2. Strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice.
3. Garnish with a cucumber slice.

P.S. Cucumber juice is an easy addition to your cocktails. All you need to do is clean and chop-up a cucumber (leave the skin on) and run it in a juicer. Voila, you have yourself some cucumber juice that can last for a whole day.

2. El Pepino

Are you Jessica Biel? Because you’re about to get The Cucumber from Justin Timberlake. We mean his El Pepino (oh man, that didn’t help). We’re talking about Justin Timberlake’s favorite cockta… alcoholic beverage! It’s El Pepino, which translates to The Cucumber from Spanish.

Violated celebrity privacies aside, the “pep” isn’t just in the name but the drink too. The modified margarita gives the easy-breezy cucumber a spicy twist. So, if you’re the type that goes “booze and snooze”, El Pepino might just provide the kicker you need to wake up and party!

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. of tequila (preferably blanco)
• 0.75 oz. of agave syrup
• 1 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• Chili-salt or Tajín, and cucumber slices to garnish
• 2 1/4-inch wheels cucumber
• 2 1/4-inch wheels fresh jalapeño

How To Make El Pepino Cocktail

1. Add the jalapeño, cucumber, and tequila to a shaker.
2. Muddle the ingredients well until they are fully pulverized.
3. Add the agave syrup and lime juice to the shaker along with ice, and shake until well-chilled.
4. Rim your rocks glass with the Tajin or Chili-salt, add fresh ice and double strain the mixture from the shaker into it.
5. Use the remaining cucumber slices as garnish

Also read: How Not To Make A Fine Glass Of Margarita

3. Cucumber Gimlet

This drink’s name reminded us of beloved Gimli from the LOTR franchise. Now, while dear Gimli was… well, vertically challenged, this cucumber and gin drink comes in a sleek, and tall cocktail glass to contrast the Dwarf. (We mean his race, not his height. Unsobered is accepting of people of all heights!)

Fortunately, the name is all the similarity this drink has with the adventurous Dwarf. The Cucumber Gimlet is a really simple cocktail with subtle flavors, making it a go to comfy beverage.

Ingredients

• 3 thick slices of cucumber
• 0.5 oz. of simple syrup
• 2 oz. of gin
• 0.75 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• Thinly sliced cucumber wheels for garnish

How To Make Cucumber Gimlet Cocktail

1. Muddle the thick cucumber wheels and simple syrup in a shaker.
2. Introduce the gin, the lime juice, and ice, and shake well until chilled.
3. Strain the mixture into a coupe glass.
4. Garnish with a cucumber wheel.

Also read: Best Mixers For Gin

4. Kentucky Maid

Based on how long ago your last meal was, if this drink’s name made you think of a certain military personnel’s poultry, you are either heading for your next meal, or a glutton. Them’s the rules, friendo!

This whiskey and mint flavored drink is sure to warm your soul and cool your tongue. Also, the Kentucky Maid, is one of the many cousins from the “Maid” family of drinks. To meet the other cousins, all you need to do is swap the bourbon with a different spirit. Tequila gives you the Mexican Maid, the Polish Maid uses vodka, and the Irish Maid can be made with Irish Whiskey and elderflower liqueur.

Ingredients

• 8 mint leaves
• 2 thin slices of cucumber slices
• 0.75 oz. of simple syrup
• 2 oz. of bourbon
• 1 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• Mint sprig and cucumber slices to garnish

How To Make Kentucky Maid Cocktail

1. Add the mint leaves, cucumber slices and simple syrup to a shaker and gently muddle. Ensure that the cucumber skins break.
2. Add the lime juice and bourbon to the shaker with ice, and shake well until chilled.
3. Add a large ice cube to a double rocks glass and strain the concoction into it.
4. Skewer a cucumber wheel with a mint sprig and use as garnish.

Also read: Know The Difference Between Bourbon And Whiskey

5. Cucumber Cleanse

Where there is mention of the cool veggie cucumber, everyone and their dog would have to hop on the “cleanse” trend! While a good drink does make us go “woof”, we mention this “cleanser” because we, the people, found a nifty cocktail.

The Cucumber Cleanse might sound more like a medicine than a cocktail, but don’t think for a moment that this drink is some boring home remedy. While the cucumber might make you think that you’re all cool and calm, one lick of the ginger and cayenne, and you’ll be sweating bullets. How else did you think you were going to cleanse yourself? Manifestation? Pfft!

Ingredients

• 2 oz. of vodka
• 0.75 oz. of fresh cucumber juice
• 0.5 oz. of lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 0.26 oz. of ginger syrup
• 0.25 oz. of honey
• 5 drops of hibiscus lavender oak bitters
• 1 egg white
• Ground cayenne for garnish

How To Make Cucumber Cleanse Cocktail

1. Dry shake (no ice) all the ingredients in a shaker first, until the egg whites make the mixture frothy.
2. Add ice, and shake well again until chilled.
3. Strain the mixture into a cocktail glass.
4. Sprinkle ground cayenne on top as garnish.

Wondering how you make ginger syrup? Stop wondering, get reading.

• Add equal parts of sugar and water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Cut 4 oz. (a 10-inch piece) of peeled ginger into thin rounds and add to the syrup.
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool and infuse for 30 mins.
• This ginger syrup can be stored in a refrigerator for several weeks.

6. Kew Garden

Speaking of summer spirits that serve as great coolants, you didn’t think we’d forget about the mojito, did you? The Kew Garden is a kewl mojito modification, with the added bonus of the kewlness from kewcumbers! (Okay, we’ll stop now.)

The Kew Garden is named after the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, UK, created by King George III on Joseph Banks. Joseph Banks’ last name also happens to be the namesake of the rum used in the first creation of this cocktail, but you can always use whichever rum you like best and is available to you.

Ingredients

• 8 mint leaves
• 3 slices of cucumber
• 0.5 oz. of simple syrup
• 2 oz. of rum
• 0.75 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 0.5 oz. of elderflower liqueur
• Chilled club soda to top off
• Mint sprig and cucumber sprigs to garnish

How To Make Kew Garden Cocktail

1. Muddle mint leaves, cucumber slices, and simple syrup in a shaker.
2. Add the rum, lime juice, elderflower liqueur, and ice. Shake well until chilled.
3. Fill a Collins glass with fresh ice and strain the mixture into it.
4. Top off the glass with the club soda.
5. Poke a mint sprig through a cucumber slice and garnish.

7. Green Beast

The Green Beast is an absinthe powered cocktail, which was famously created by cocktail artisan Charles Vexenat for the spirit bigshot Pernod Ricard. The drink was tailored to flaunt the alcohol manufacturing beast’s absinthe. And here we thought that thanks to the green beast, there might be some SMASHing!

We’re talking about the Hulk of course, what were you thinking?

Ingredients

• 3 peeled slices of seedless cucumber
• 1 oz. of simple syrup
• 1 oz. of absinthe
• 1 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 4 oz. of chilled water
• Cucumber slices to garnish

How To Make Green Beast Cocktail

1. Add the cucumber slices and simple syrup into a Collins glass and muddle.
2. Pour the absinthe, lime juice, and ice into the glass.
3. Top off the glass with chilled water, and use additional cucumber slices to garnish.

Also read: Marvel-Themed Cocktails For The Diehard Fans

8. Hello, Sun

As much as we dislike the summer heat, and as much as the sun is to be blamed for this affliction, this drink takes a peaceful approach to the whole deal. We can’t help but hum The Beatles’ “Here comes the sun”, thanks to this drink’s name.

The mint and cucumber combo make this drink so cool, that if we could, we’d give it some sunglasses. That’s not how this cocktail rolls though, it’s big on facing the sun raw, and it sure as hell will chill you so you can too!

Ingredients

• 3 mint leaves, fresh
• 2 slices of cucumber
• 0.75 oz. of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 oz. of mezcal
• 1.5 oz. of aloe liqueur
• Cucumber slices for garnish

P.S. To make aloe liqueur, combine 1 oz. sugarcane rum, 1 cup reduced aloe and 3 oz. of honey. The mixture can be stored for up to a month, if refrigerated in an airtight container.

How To Make Hello, Sun Cocktail

1. Gently muddle the cucumber, mint, and lime juice in a shaker to extract their flavors.
2. Adding ice, mezcal and aloe liqueur to the mix, shake well till chilled.
3. Add fresh ice into a rocks glass, and strain the drink into the glass.
4. Add cucumber slices to garnish.

Summing Up

Cucumber has been the cool food of choice for the masses for a long time now. Adding cucumber to your cocktails brings notes of freshness and a subtle sweetness to your drink, which can also help balance out the strong taste of alcohol. This makes cucumber cocktails a pretty safe choice for beginners looking to experiment with their spirits.

FAQs

What Is A Cucumber Cocktail Called?

Cucumber cocktails have many names. Some of the most popular ones are:

• Cucumber And Rose Collins
• El Pepino
• Cucumber Gimlet
• Kentucky Maid
• Cucumber Cleanse
• Kew Garden
• Green Beast
• Hello, Sun

Is Cucumber Good With Alcohol?

Honestly, anything is good with alcohol, if there’s enough alcohol. Jokes aside, cucumber is definitely an ingredient that goes well with the spirits. Not only does cucumber add fresh and subtly sweet notes to your drink, it also adds a crunchy texture to enhance the mouth feel of your cocktails.

Why Does Cucumber Go With Gin?

The spicy and sweet notes of gin are perfectly cut by the vegetally sweet taste that cucumber brings to the mix. Plus, gin’s just friendly like that, it goes well with a lot of things.

How To Cut Cucumbers For Cocktails?

Wheels of cucumber of varying thicknesses can be obtained by cutting across the width of the veggie. You can also be all fancy-schmancy by cutting thin strips of cucumber lengthwise, into thin ribbons to add to your cocktails.

Can We Eat Cucumber With Whiskey?

Cucumbers can definitely work with whiskey. Various recipes like the Kentucky Maid even call for slices of cucumbers as an ingredient.

Why Do You Put Cucumber In Drinks?

Whether it’s freshly cut, or as a juice, cucumber adds a fresh, sweet, and vegetal flavor to the spirit of your choice and makes for an excellent cocktail addition.

Is Cucumber Good While Drinking?

Not only as ingredients in cocktails, but cucumbers can also act as good accompaniments to your alcoholic beverages. Cucumbers have high water content and low calories, so you don’t have to worry about your waistline (you are loved, in every shape), and their flavor also compliments most alcoholic drinks.