Cucumber Lime Spritz Recipe

Prepare cucumber

Wash the cucumber. Peel half (optional for texture) and cut into chunks. Reserve a few thin slices or ribbons for garnish.

Make cucumber purée

Place the cucumber chunks in a blender with 1/4 cup of the fresh lime juice and 1/4 cup cold water. Blitz until smooth, about 20–30 seconds. If you prefer a clearer spritz, strain the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. You should end up with roughly 1/3 to 1/2 cup cucumber-lime liquid.

Combine base

In a pitcher, combine the cucumber-lime liquid, remaining 1/2 cup fresh lime juice, lime zest, and 1/2 cup simple syrup. Stir well to dissolve and integrate flavors. Taste and adjust sweetness or acidity: add up to 2 tablespoons additional simple syrup if too tart, or a teaspoon more lime juice if too sweet.

Chill and prepare glasses

Fill four serving glasses with ice. If rimming, rub a lime wedge around the glass rim and dip into a shallow plate of sea salt (optional).

Assemble spritzes

Divide the cucumber-lime base evenly among the four glasses (about 3–4 tablespoons per glass). Add 1.5 tablespoons (or 0.75 fl oz) of gin or vodka to each glass if making alcoholic spritzes (total 6 tablespoons for the batch).

Top with sparkle

Top each glass with club soda or sparkling water, pouring about 3/4 cup per glass (3 cups total for the batch). Gently stir once to combine, taking care not to lose too much carbonation.

Garnish and serve

Garnish each glass with a cucumber ribbon or slice, a lime wheel, and 2 fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately with a straw or stirring spoon.

To make simple syrup: combine equal parts sugar and water (by volume), bring to a simmer until sugar dissolves, then cool. Store leftover syrup refrigerated up to 2 weeks. For a lighter non-alcoholic version, omit the gin/vodka and increase club soda by 1/2 cup.