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Food & Wine Recipe

Cucumber-Basil Martini

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  • ACTIVE:
  • TOTAL TIME: 10 MIN
  • SERVINGS: makes 1 drink

To make this refreshing riff on a martini, chef Laurent Tourondel muddles basil and cucumber the same way he'd mash the ingredients for a mojito; then he pours in gin and a zingy mixture of ginger syrup and lime juice.

  1. 1 tablespoon sugar
  2. 1 tablespoon hot water
  3. 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
  4. One 3-inch piece of cucumber—peeled, seeded and diced, plus 1 round for garnish
  5. 3 basil leaves, 2 torn
  6. 2 ounces gin
  7. 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  8. Ice
  1. In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar in the hot water. Press the grated ginger through a fine strainer set over the bowl, releasing the juice.
  2. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the diced cucumber with the 2 torn basil leaves. Add the ginger syrup, gin, lime juice and a handful of ice. Shake well, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish the martini with the cucumber slice and the remaining whole basil leaf and serve.