Cucumber Gin and Tonics

It's finally here...vacation.

A week at the beach filled with good reads, good eats, and naturally, good drinks.

I grew up in a family that likes a plan. I've been taught that a plan makes life easier - sure it takes some forethought to make the plan, but once it's done you know exactly what you want to do and how it's going to happen.

Vacation is no exception. Luckily, the plans tend to revolve around more exciting topics. Runs on the beach, tee times, and yes, drinking.

Enter: Drink of the Day.

You obviously can't have the same cocktail every day of vacation, so what better way to use our planning skills than to plan our happy hours. Cheers!

Both my dad and I happened to enjoy some variation on a cucumber gin and tonic in the past few weeks, so for the first day of vacation we decided to recreate it. And boy is it tasty. It's crisp, refreshing, and the gin-steeped cucumber you get to crunch on in the end basically make it a health food.

Ingredients, unite!

Two cukes, one peeled, one not.

Chop the peeled cuke into small chunks and combine with a 1/3 cup of water. Time to muddle!

We improvised here with the tools, but a mortar and pestle would be your best bet. Other tools to consider: potato masher, meat tenderizer, wooden spoon.

Run your muddled cucumbers through a mesh strainer. You'll get beautifully green cucumber juice.

Add an ounce of the cucumber juice to each glass.

Add an ounce of gin, and then top 'em off with your tonic and cucumber ribbons.

AmIRight?

Cucumber Gin and Tonics
makes 4 cocktails

2 cucumbers
4 oz. gin
1 liter tonic water
1/3 cup water

Peel and chop one cucumber into 1/4 inch pieces. Muddle with 1/3 cup of water, and strain into a glass with a mesh strainer.

Divide cucumber juice among four drinks, about 1 ounce each. Add an ounce of gin (or however much you want) to each glass, as well as three ounces of tonic water.

With a vegetable peeler, take the other cucumber and shave long, thin ribbons for garnish. Top each drink with 2-3 ribbons and stir together with a spoon. Enjoy!