Simple yet flavorful, cucumbers are the unsung heroes of summer cocktails. While the season may be fleeting, you can still savor a taste of lazy beach days and warm nights when you concoct a refreshing tipple made with the herbaceous fruit. Follow the lead of these luxury hotels named to Forbes Travel Guide’s Verified List of the World’s Best Hotel Bars to sip on summer all year long.
BLOSSOMING INDIGO
For a fresh, picture-perfect gin spin, try this recipe from The Peninsula Beverly Hills’ The Club Bar.
2 ounces Empress Gin
¾ ounce lime juice
2 dashes of rhubarb bitters
2 slices of fresh cucumbers
½ ounce simple syrup
Tonic water
Garnish: cucumber slice, edible flowers, mint
Muddle two slices of cucumber with gin. Add all other ingredients in shaker. Shake vigorously and strain over ice in a snifter with a cucumber lining. Garnish with mint and edible flowers. Top off with tonic.
GINGER SAKETINI
Add some bite with this take from The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort’s The St. Regis Bar & Wine Vault.
1 ounce Effen Cucumber Vodka
1 ounce homemade ginger reduction
1 ounce Hiro Red Sake
1 dash of cucumber bitters
4 shiso leaves
¾ ounce yuzu juice
½ ounce simple syrup
¾ ounce cucumber juice
¼ teaspoon fresh wasabi
Put all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass.
CLOUD NINE
Give your gin a sweet touch with this tipple from The Phoenician, A Luxury Collection Resort’s Thirsty Camel.
1½ ounces Belvedere Vodka
½ ounce St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
3 fresh mint sprigs
2 cucumber wheels
1 ounce egg whites
½ ounce lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup
In a pint glass, muddle cucumber and mint. Add lime juice, simple syrup, egg whites, Belvedere Vodka and St-Germaine Elderflower Liqueur and dry shake (that is, shaking without ice) hard until it becomes frothy. Add ice and shake again until well chilled. Double strain into a martini glass.
