Cucumber & Elderflower Cooler Mocktail Recipe
Muddled cucumber with elderflower and lime, lengthened with soda — the most garden-like drink in the book.
- Category: Mocktail
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 0%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
- Alcohol-free: ✓
Ingredients
- Cucumber5 piece
- Elderflower cordial30 ml (1 oz)
- Fresh lime juice20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Soda water120 ml (4.1 oz)
How to Make It
- Muddle the cucumber slices in the bottom of a highball glass.
- Add the cordial and lime juice, then fill with ice.
- Top with soda water and stir.
- Garnish with a cucumber ribbon and mint.
Garnish
Cucumber ribbon and mint
What it tastes like
It smells of lemon and lime peel, it carries a floral top note, it is carbonated and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Muddling. Fruit, herbs or sugar get pressed at the bottom of the glass. With leaves like mint the goal is to press, not to shred: two or three pushes is plenty, more releases chlorophyll and turns the drink grassy and bitter. Sugar and firm fruit, on the other hand, really do get crushed.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Cucumber
- The skin can be bitter, so thin slices work best; dropping slices into the shaker gives a cleaner flavour than muddling them.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
- Soda water
- Plain carbonated water. It goes in LAST and nothing is stirred after it. An open bottle goes flat fast, so small bottles make more sense than big ones.
The Story
A staple of English summer parties since elderflower cordial moved from hedgerow kitchens to supermarket shelves in the 1980s.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Cucumber & Elderflower Cooler mixed?
- It is muddled and served in a highball glass.
- Does a Cucumber & Elderflower Cooler contain alcohol?
- No. It is safe to serve to children, to anyone pregnant, and to whoever is driving.
- Is a Cucumber & Elderflower Cooler hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.