Refreshing and elegant, this Cucumber Elderflower Cooler offers a perfect mix of garden-fresh cucumber and sweet floral notes. The recipe combines muddled cucumber, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, gin, and fresh lime juice to create a light and balanced summer drink.
The bright green color and subtle fragrance make this cocktail a natural choice for warm-weather gatherings and parties. Its light and crisp taste works well for afternoon sipping or as a pre-dinner drink.
This easy-to-make cocktail takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and needs just a few basic bar tools. The recipe can be doubled or tripled to serve groups, and the cucumber garnish adds a nice visual touch to each glass.
Cucumber Elderflower Cooler Cocktail Recipe
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker
- Muddler
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Highball glass
- Ice
- Vegetable peeler
- Measuring jigger
- Long spoon
Ingredients
- 2 oz gin
- 1 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
- 3 cucumber slices 1/4 inch thick
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- Club soda
- Ice cubes
- Cucumber ribbon and mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
- Use a vegetable peeler to create one long cucumber ribbon for garnish. Set aside.
- Place cucumber slices in a cocktail shaker and muddle gently to release the juice.
- Add gin, elderflower liqueur, lime juice, and simple syrup to the shaker.
- Fill shaker with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds until well chilled.
- Strain mixture into an ice-filled highball glass using a fine mesh strainer.
- Top with club soda and stir gently.
- Garnish with the cucumber ribbon and mint sprig.
Notes
Must Have Ingredients
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Tasting Notes
The Cucumber Elderflower Cooler brings a fresh, bright taste that mixes sweet and crisp flavors. Each sip starts with a light elderflower sweetness that mingles with the clean, garden-fresh taste of cucumber.
The drink has a smooth, silky texture from the muddled cucumber and a gentle fizz from club soda. The lime adds a pop of citrus that balances the floral notes of the elderflower liqueur.
Key flavor notes:
- Fresh cucumber
- Sweet elderflower
- Bright citrus
- Light effervescence
The cocktail’s pale green color matches its refreshing taste profile. Ice keeps the drink cold and adds a pleasant dilution that lets the flavors blend together.
This cooler has a low alcohol content compared to other cocktails, making it perfect for warm weather sipping. The gentle blend of botanical flavors creates a drink that tastes like a garden in springtime.
Any bitter notes from the cucumber skin are filtered out during preparation, leaving only pure, clean flavors. The drink finishes clean and crisp on the palate.
Substitute
No elderflower syrup? St. Germain elderflower liqueur works well as a swap. Use 1 ounce of liqueur instead of the syrup.
The cucumber can be replaced with thin slices of honeydew melon. This gives a similar fresh and light taste to the drink.
For a non-alcoholic version, skip the gin and add extra club soda. Mix in 1/4 teaspoon of rose water to keep the floral notes.
Fresh mint leaves make a good stand-in when cucumber isn’t available. Use 4-5 large leaves, muddled gently.
Other substitutes include:
- Lime juice instead of lemon juice
- Tonic water in place of club soda
- Simple syrup + 2 drops orange blossom water instead of elderflower
- English cucumber for regular cucumber
The drink tastes best with fresh ingredients, but bottled lemon juice can work when needed. Just reduce the amount by half since bottled juice is stronger.
