Cucumber Collins

A gin based sour cocktail that makes for a refreshing summer drink. With few basics ingredients you can make this elegant cocktail in no time.

A Collins cocktail is a sour gin based drink that is most often then not topped with soda or carbonated water. The most popular recipe is a Tom or John Collins however this Cucumber Collins recipe will blow your taste buds out. Coming from someone who never drank gin before, I think this is the cocktail for me. Also, the addition of cucumber here is absolutely delicious not to mention cooling for the summer.

The origin of the Collins cocktail is definitely a controversial topic as it has roots back in UK while there are traces of the Tom Collins cocktail in New York, US. I will not get into that debate as I am new to this and my primary concern is that of the taste and look of course. In saying this I used Bombay Sapphire Gin here but Hendrick’s will work just as well.

Ideally you wan to serve this cocktail in a tall glass that can fit 350 – 400 ml of liquid as once the cocktail is ready, it is topped off with soda. The glass I’ve used here is shorter but as I didn’t make a traditional Tom Collins here, the glass is fine and it does fit the necessary amount into the glass. In saying this, how you serve the cocktail is as important as making the cocktail. You must use fresh cucumbers here and instead of muddling them in the shaker, you can juice it, strain it and then just pour 40 ml worth of juice into the shaker.

I like to present the cocktail with a shaved cucumber slice (length wise) making for an elegant looking cocktail. I like using mint to garnish the cocktail not only because mint and cucumbers are a match made in heaven but the green color is vibrant and enunciates the mild green from the cucumbers. A slice of cucumber on the side of the glass also works here.

Food Pairing:

The cocktail is lovely with vegetarian dishes including but not limited to mushrooms, cheese soufflé, pasta, gnocchi, etc. However it also pairs well with herb lemon chicken skewers, pan fried fish with some green beans and mash potato. Also I have served this with salmon en croute and its delicious!

You can watch how I made it here. Enough chat, let us make some cocktails Happy Shaking Ninjas! Cheers.