Lemon, Mint & Cucumber Gin Cooler

PARTNEREDPOSTI’m rather partial to a cocktail!

Especially since I don’t like table wine or beer, which seem to be the default alcoholic choices to drink with food when eating out in a restaurant. I usually end up choosing a soft drink – a fizzy drink, fruit juice, maybe a milkshake or a lassi, or just plain old tap water. But show me a really good cocktail menu and you have my attention, especially if it’s not one of those slave-to-fashion affairs in which virtually every cocktail features trendy home made bitters. Uugh! As someone with a sweet-tooth, I’m not a fan of trendy bitter cocktails!

When it comes to drinking at home, it’s a simple matter to raid not only the (groaning) alcohol cupboard but the fridge and pantry too, all the better to shake up something special.

Most Gin Cooler recipes combine gin with either cucumber or elderflower, plus lemon or lime, and sometimes a little soda water to create a tall rather than short drink.

Usually the cucumber is sliced or diced and added whole, but for my Lemon, Mint & Cucumber Gin Cooler I’ve juiced the cucumber with some mint and combined the glorious green liquid with gin, lemon zest, lemon juice and a touch of sugar. Including the cucumber skin gives a much deeper green colour and a stronger flavour, but of course you can peel the cucumber first if you’d like something a little more subtle.

Because I’m a child at heart and love a good froth moustache, I’ve added an egg white to make a thick layer of froth but you can miss this out if you’re not so keen, or if you make this for anyone who can’t consume raw eggs. Likewise, if you prefer a tall drink, omit the egg white and instead add up to 100 ml of soda water; shake all the ingredients except for the soda water, pour the mix into a tall glass and then top up with the soda water.

Lemon Mint & Cucumber Gin Cooler on Kavey Eats (Kavita Favelle) - 1

For the lemon zest, make sure you use one of the new generation of super-sharp fine-gauge graters such as the Deiss Pro Citrus Lemon Zester & Cheese Grater. These allow you to zest only the very top layer of the citrus peel which is full of essential oils and flavour, leaving behind the bitter white pith.

Lemon Mint & Cucumber Gin Cooler on Kavey Eats (Kavita Favelle) - 2

Lemon, Mint & Cucumber Gin Cooler

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 140 ml

Ingredients

  • One third to half a cucumber (to make 60ml of strained juice)
  • 3 mint leaves
  • Zest of one lemon , unwaxed or thoroughly scrubbed
  • 30 ml lemon juice
  • 60 ml gin
  • 30 g white sugar
  • 1 small egg white (raw)

Recipe Notes

I wanted both the strong flavour and the vivid green colour of the cucumber skin. However, for a more subtle cucumber flavour, peel the cucumber and discard the skin.
As this recipe includes raw egg white, it is not suitable for pregnant women or anyone with a compromised immune system. However, its role is purely to create froth, so you can miss it out without changing the flavour of the finished cocktail.
If you scale this recipe up, one egg white will be sufficient for up to 2 servings.

Instructions

  • Blend the whole cucumber with the mint leaves in a food processor, jug blender and strain through muslin to collect the juice.

  • Zest the lemon using a fine-gauge grater or zester. Then cut the lemon in half and juice.

  • Into a cocktail shaker or suitably-sized jam jar, measure 60 ml of the strained cucumber and mint juice, 60 ml of gin, 30 ml (2 tablespoons) of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of sugar and add the lemon zest and egg white.

  • Seal the jar and shake hard until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined, and the egg white has created a frothy emulsion.

  • Pour into a glass and serve immediately.

Lemon Mint & Cucumber Gin Cooler on Kavey Eats (Kavita Favelle) - 3

Kavey Eats was commissioned to develop and publish this recipe by Deiss Limited.

Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!
35 Comments to "Lemon, Mint & Cucumber Gin Cooler"

  1. Jemma

    I thought this was a green juice when I first clicked on it! It sounds super refreshing and what a beautiful colour.

    Reply
  2. jane

    I love how versatile you’ve made this drink. The short drink with egg white is perfect for cooler weather and the longer drink for those hot summer days that lie in wait for us this year.

    Reply
  3. Ceri Jonesc

    I love the idea of this, and the cucumber juice definitely makes it healthy right? I just bought some fancy Welsh gin, so eager to try this out asap! Lovely.

    Reply
  4. Kate

    Yum!! I love adding cucumber to gin cocktails. It was our drink of choice at parties last summer. I love that you’ve juiced the cucumber with mint. I need to try this!

    Reply
  5. Sarah

    I’m always looking for refreshing drinks during the summer months…this one sounds wonderful! Can’t wait to try!

    Reply
  6. Michelle

    The Deiss grater is a nifty thing, isn’t it? Didn’t know that egg whites could be used in cocktails. Love the flavour combinations, now only if I liked gin!

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    You could definitely use vodka for this one and I reckon it might be interesting with tequila too!

    Reply
  7. Helen

    I do like a good cocktail, and this one sounds certainly worth trying out. I reckon you have a good combination of ingredients that will go well together.

    Reply
  8. Becca

    I must admit I usually stick with the standard beer or wine, but I do love a nice sweet cocktail once in a while. Love the sound of the cucumber in this!

    Reply
  9. Sally

    In the market for a new citrus grater and this looks right up my street. Your cocktail seems like a rather healthy combination – to make up for the gin (which I love of course).

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    It’s reasonably healthy, and you can omit the sugar completely if you prefer, so I reckon it’s a good compromise on having a slug of gin!

    Reply
  10. debi

    This looks delicious! Because of the pretty green color it looks like a breakfast drink. Maybe it’ll replace the mimosa at brunch. I have one of these Deiss graters, and I LOVE it!

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Yeah it seems the only alcoholic drinks people consider for breakfast are bucks fizz and bloody mary but think this would work well too!

    Reply
  11. Maxine G

    As usual, this looks gorgeous – a real show-stopper! I may have to try this out on my friends … just wish the English weather would hurry up and be summery so we could sit outside and enjoy it in the sunshine

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    It’s been glorious today, finally felt like spring, though I think it’s not here to stay just yet, sadly!

    Reply
  12. StokeySue

    Some time ago I wanted to make pisco sours without using raw egg white, so I bought a box of the freeze dried egg white for meringues from the baking aisle. A generous tsp of that and bit of water to make up the volume worked a treat, and no stringy bits 🙂 . Will try the cocktail, though probably with a bit less sugar for me

    Reply
  13. Alphonso Littlefield

    What a very detailed post! I always just bought cheap graters, now that I am a young professional I am trying to stock up on items that will last and last. This isn’t college anymore and I should not have to suffer though one more dull grater!

    Reply

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