Cucumber and Lemon Thyme Martini
Flavoured vodkas are one of the most popular drinks at the moment. This recipe uses lemon vodka but it is every bit as successful made with ordinary vodka – just add a tiny bit more lemon juice.
- 5 cm (2 in) cucumber
- the leaves from 4 sprigs of lemon variegated thyme
- a dash of vanilla essence
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- gomme syrup or 1 tsp caster sugar
- 50 ml vodka – lemon vodka if possible but by no means essential
- ice cubes
- a cucumber twist and a sprig of the thyme to garnish
Those of you with cocktail set will be well away whilst the rest of us can manage very well
with a pestle and a clean jar with a lid! All of the ingredients are variable,
you may for instance prefer to add extra sugar for a sweeter cocktail
Chop the cucumber roughly and put into a small bowl with all the ingredients except the vodka and the ice.
Bash and press it with the pestle until the cucumber is well bruised but not totally pulped and all the sugar
(if you are using it) is dissolved in the resulting juice.
If you have a cocktail set this can all be done inside the shaker with the end of the bar spoon.
Add the vodka and 4 ice cubes to the cocktail shaker.
If you are managing without a shaker then transfer the crushed ingredients to the jar and add the vodka and ice,
rinsing out the crushing bowl with a little of the vodka to make sure that you transfer over all of the flavours.
Shake for a minute to chill thoroughly then strain into a glass, garnish, relax and enjoy.