Brine’s Cucumber Gimlet Recipe

Prepare cucumber juice

Place the 2 oz sliced cucumber in a small blender or shaker tin. Muddle or briefly blitz until broken down and juicy (about 10–15 seconds). If you prefer a clearer cocktail, strain the cucumber pulp through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a measuring jigger, pressing to extract approximately 2 oz of cucumber juice; discard solids.

Build the drink

In a cocktail shaker, combine the 2 oz Crop Cucumber Organic Vodka, the 2 oz (or strained) cucumber juice, 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice, 0.5 oz simple syrup, and 6 fresh mint leaves.

Muddle gently

Gently clap the mint leaves between your hands to release aroma, then add them to the shaker and lightly muddle with the other ingredients (2–3 gentle presses). Avoid over-muddling the mint to prevent excessive bitterness.

Shake with ice

Add the ice for shaking (about 6 cubed pieces) to the shaker. Seal and shake vigorously for 12–15 seconds until the outside of the shaker is very cold and slightly frosted. This chills and dilutes the cocktail properly.

Prepare glass

Fill a chilled coupe or chilled rocks glass with 1 cup of fresh ice if serving on the rocks (or leave empty if serving straight up). If serving on the rocks, use a rocks glass; for a gimlet-style straight-up presentation, use a coupe and omit the serving ice.

Double strain and serve

Double strain the shaken cocktail into your prepared glass using a Hawthorne and a fine mesh strainer to catch mint bits and cucumber solids. If serving on the rocks, pour over the ice in the rocks glass; if straight up, pour into the chilled coupe.

Garnish

Finish with a cucumber wheel or ribbon placed on the rim or floated on top and a small sprig of mint. Gently slap the mint between your palms before garnishing to release aroma.

Final notes

Taste and adjust: if you prefer it sweeter, add 0.25 oz more simple syrup; if brighter, add 0.25 oz more lemon juice. Serve immediately.