by: Kate McMillan
Cook Time
3 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Yield
1 serving
Total Time
3 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Yield
1 serving
summary
This refreshing mocktail is primed to be your seasonal go-to for warm summer nights, poolside lounging and weekend entertaining. It is light, sweet and super tasty. It’s fairly easy to find zero-proof alcohol these days, as so many people are opting for mocktails. Keep the skin on the cucumber for this one, as it lends a really pretty color to the simple syrup.
ingredients
- Simple Syrup Ingredients:
- ¼ English cucumber (about 3 inches long)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- Mocktail Ingredients:
- 3 ounces cucumber simple syrup (above)
- 2 ounces non-alcoholic gin
- ½ ounce fresh lime juice
- Sparkling water
- Cucumber wheel, for garnish
- Lime wheel, for garnish
directions
- Shred the cucumber (including the skin) on the big holes of a box grater. Add this to a small pan with the sugar and water and set over medium heat. Stirring a few times, cook until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature and to steep, about one hour. You will have about ¾ cup of the simple syrup.
- To make a cucumber gimlet mocktail, fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the simple syrup, non-alcoholic gin and lime juice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds and pour into a cocktail glass filled with ice. Top with sparkling water and garnish with lime and cucumber wheels.
notes
You can make the simple syrup up to 1 week in advance. Keep in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator.
You need to give the cucumber simple syrup time to develop flavor. Make sure you save at least an hour for the syrup to steep at room temperature.
For the cucumber garnish, there are a few fun options. You can slice a cucumber wheel, cut a spear, or use a vegetable peeler to cut a long thin slice which looks really pretty against the interior of the glass or skewered like a ribbon on a cocktail pick.
You can make a big batch mocktail version of this cucumber gimlet mocktail by just multiplying the recipe by the number of people you’re serving. The cucumber simple syrup ingredients yield ¾ cup total.
