Light A Like Recipe

1. Prepare cucumber juice

If you don't have pre-made cucumber juice: peel (optional) and roughly chop about half a medium cucumber. Put the pieces in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. You should obtain about 1–2 ounces; measure 0.75 oz for this recipe. Chill briefly if desired.

2. Chill glass

Place a coupe or flute in the freezer for 5–10 minutes, or fill it with ice water while you prepare the cocktail to chill it.

3. Build the cocktail

In a cocktail shaker, add 1.5 oz gin, 0.5 oz dry vermouth, 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice, 0.75 oz cucumber juice, 0.5 oz elderflower liqueur, and 0.25 oz simple syrup. Fill the shaker about two-thirds with ice.

4. Shake

Shake vigorously for 12–15 seconds (until the shaker is well-chilled and slightly frosted). The shaking integrates the cucumber and lemon with the spirits and lightly dilutes the mixture.

5. Strain

Double-strain the cocktail into the chilled cocktail glass (coupe or flute) using a Hawthorne and fine-mesh strainer to remove ice shards and any cucumber solids.

6. Top and garnish

Carefully top the drink with 1.5 oz club soda to add lift and effervescence. Garnish with a long cucumber ribbon draped into the glass or a thin cucumber wheel and a lemon twist expressed over the surface to release oils; drop the twist into the drink.

7. Serve

Serve immediately while effervescent. Encourage the drinker to stir gently once or twice to combine soda with the base.

8. To batch multiply: for each additional serving add 1.5 oz gin, 0.5 oz dry vermouth, 0.5 oz lemon juice, 0.75 oz cucumber juice, 0.5 oz elderflower liqueur, and 0.25 oz simple syrup to a pitcher; keep chilled and add club soda per glass just before serving to preserve fizz.

9. Adjust sweetness: if cucumber is very mild, increase simple syrup by 0.25 oz. If you prefer a dryer drink, reduce elderflower liqueur by 0.25 oz.