Recipe: Strawberry Cucumber Fizz

Strawberry Cucumber Fizz

This light and refreshing cocktail is easy and comes together quickly once you make your strawberry simple syrup. The best part is the syrup is made with the tops of the fruit, thereby eliminating any waste you might get from conventionally cutting your berries. 21+, please drink responsibly. 

Makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients 

• 1.5 ounces gin
• .5 ounce Grand Marnier
• 3-4 tablespoons strawberry simple syrup (see below for instructions).
• 3 slices of cucumber (about ¼-½ inch slices), more for garnish
• Juice of half a lime
• White sugar, for rim garnish
• Splash of club soda

Instructions

1. Medium dice the cucumber slices. In a cocktail shaker or glass, muddle the cucumber. 
2. Add the gin, Grand Marnier, lime juice, and syrup. Add a few ice cubes. Cover and shake. 
3. Wet the rim of a highball glass with the cut of your leftover lime. Rim the glass with sugar. Add one large ice cube or several smaller ones to a highball glass. Strain your cocktail and pour into your glass. Top with a bit of club soda to add the fizz. Garnish with a slice of cucumber and serve. 

Strawberry Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is just equal parts sugar and water mixed together in a saucepan and warmed on the stove to dissolve the sugar. To get the strawberry flavor, take the tops of your strawberries (leaves, white part, and some of the top of the ripe part) and add them to the saucepan. Simmer the berries in the simple syrup for at least 10 minutes. Strain and cool. This cocktail only requires a few tablespoons of syrup, so you can put the rest in the jar and store in the fridge.