Make It a Gin and Tonic From a Broken Cucumber
Happy weekend and welcome back to Happy 3 Ingredient Hour , a weekly drinks column featuring very simple yet delicious libations. This week we are taking an already refreshing gin and tonic and making it even fresher, if you can imagine that.
Earlier this week, I was at a book event. I don’t usually go to booking related events, but the book was about gin (and tonic) and I was told there would be free gin (and tonic). This book has it all – malaria, alpaca vendors, airplane-dropped cats – and I’ve learned a lot, but mostly it just made me want to drink more gin (and tonic).
For many years now, Hendrick’s gin has had a special place in my heart because I love this deadly fresh cucumber scent, but it’s expensive in my area and the tonic tends to hide those more delicate floral notes anyway. So, for G&T’s, I started floundering about actual cucumbers — which are cheap! -In a less expensive gin (a bribe at London Dry is a cold), and topping that with a tonic. If you’re a big fan of quinine soda, feel free to add an extra ounce of tonic to the recipe below, but I find it a little sweet. To make this amazing drink, you will need:
- 3 cucumber slices
- 2 ounces of not-too-sophisticated gin
- 2 ounces tonic (you can really fantasize here, but I’m not taller than Schweppe)
Add cucumber slices to a small ball and mash. Add gin and crush the shells again. Fill a glass with ice and pour over the tonic. Take a sip and savor the scent of a fresh, sun-drenched day.