Cocktail: Green Tea and Cucumber Gimlet

The gimlet is a classic, simple gin and lime cocktail. It's tart, sweet and refreshing. I recently wrote about how it was one of the first cocktails I learned to make back in my college years. It's an elegant cocktail, in part for its simplicity.

This version isn't so simple, but I think it still holds true to the essence of the gimlet, with the additional ingredients adding a subtle bitterness that smooths out its typical sweet-tart profile. In fact, I'd say this makes for the smoothest gimlet I've ever had, making it a wonderful summer drink.


Green Tea and Cucumber Gimlet

2 1/2 oz. of gin
1 green tea bag
1/4 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 oz. simple syrup
1 oz. fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
Lime twist, garnish

1. Place the tea bag in the gin for 20 minutes to infuse. Squeeze liquid out of the tea bag and discard. You should have at least 2 oz. of infused gin.

2. Place the diced cucumber in the bottom of a cocktail shaker and muddle vigorously to crush the cucumber. Add 2 oz. of tea-infused gin, lime juice and simple syrup. Add ice and shake until very cold. Double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass (see note). Garnish with lime twist.

Note: To double-strain a cocktail, pour the cocktail through the strainer you normally use with the shaker (such as a hawthorne strainer if using a Boston shaker) as well as a fine-mesh sieve held above the glass. This removes small particles, in this case pulpy bits of cucumber.

Related

Richmond Gimlet