Ingredients
- 2 large cucumbers, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 cups cold water (or sparkling water)
- Cucumber ribbons, for garnish
- Ice, for serving
- 1 green apple, cored and chopped
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
Instructions
- Blend. Blend the chopped cucumbers, apple, ginger (if using), mint leaves, and 1 cup of the water on high until completely smooth, about 45 seconds.
- Strain. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher, pressing to extract all the juice. Discard the pulp.
- Sweeten. Whisk the honey into the warm lime juice until dissolved (or use simple syrup), then stir into the cucumber juice with the remaining water.
- Taste and adjust. Taste before serving: more honey if too tart, more lime if too flat, more mint if you want it bolder.
- Serve. Fill tall glasses with ice and cucumber ribbons, pour over the cooler, and garnish with mint. For sparkle, use sparkling water and add it last.
🧊 Cool tactics
Strain well — cucumber pulp makes the texture pulpy rather than crisp. Dissolve the honey in the lime juice first; it won't dissolve in cold liquid alone. Sparkling water turns this from spa sip to celebration — add it at the very end so the bubbles survive. English cucumbers need no peeling and have fewer seeds.
Common questions
Why does mine taste bitter?
Usually the cucumber skin or seeds. Use English (seedless) cucumbers, or peel and seed regular ones before blending.
Can I make it ahead?
The base (everything but sparkling water and ice) keeps 2 days refrigerated. Add fizz and garnishes at serving time.
Boozy version?
A shot of gin or vodka per glass makes an excellent garden cocktail. The cucumber-mint base was practically built for gin.
How do I make it less sweet?
Halve the honey or skip it — cucumber and mint are refreshing unsweetened, with lime doing the heavy lifting.
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