Cucumber ribbons, lime and mint make a light elderflower spritz. This is a measured house drink. The former claim that every ingredient was exactly one-tenth of a Good Housekeeping jug recipe was inaccurate: mint sprigs were not scaled that way, and lime slice counts vary.
Prep: 5 minutes. Total: about 5 minutes, longer if chilling is needed. Yield: 1 serving (165 ml before produce and ice).
Ingredients
- 2 washed thin lime slices
- 6 washed fresh mint leaves, plus 1 optional garnish leaf
- One 1 cm length of washed English cucumber, shaved into ribbons
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) non-alcoholic elderflower cordial
- 5 US fl oz (150 ml) chilled soda water
- Ice for serving
Method
- Put lime slices and 6 mint leaves in a 12-ounce glass.
- Shave the cucumber piece into ribbons with a peeler and add them, discarding the seedy core.
- Add cordial and soda water, stir gently, then add enough ice to chill without overflowing.
- Add the optional single mint leaf and serve immediately.
Measured Flavor Options
For a bitter version replace 150 ml soda with 150 ml chilled cucumber tonic. For a rose option add 1/4 teaspoon culinary rose water with the cordial, keeping all other quantities unchanged; check that it is food flavoring, not perfume or cosmetic water. For a lighter cordial version use 2 teaspoons (10 ml) cordial and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice with the same 150 ml soda.
Ten-Glass Pitcher
Use 2 washed thinly sliced limes, leaves from 4 washed mint sprigs, one washed 10 cm length of cucumber shaved into ribbons, 150 ml cordial and 1.5 litres soda water. Mix the produce with cordial in a pitcher holding at least 2 litres. Keep refrigerated and add the cold soda at service. Divide the liquid equally into ten glasses, about 165 ml before produce displacement and ice, with some cucumber/lime in each. This is a house jug option; it uses four sprigs for the pitcher rather than ten times the single-glass mint portion. Allow about 10 minutes with ingredients ready. Add one optional fresh mint leaf per glass separately if desired.
Homemade Elderflower Syrup Option
Simmer 4 tablespoons commercially supplied dried culinary elderflowers in 360 ml water for 20 minutes. Strain, measure the hot liquid and dissolve an equal volume of granulated sugar in it. For example, 240 ml recovered tea takes 1 US cup sugar. Cool promptly over an ice-water bath, measure recovery and use 15 ml cooled syrup instead of the 15 ml commercial cordial in one spritz. Allow about 45 minutes for the component or longer until cold, in addition to the five-minute drink assembly. Flavor is different from commercial cordial; the two are not a standardized concentration. Refrigerate surplus. No foraged berry, stem, leaf or fermented cordial method is supplied.
Glass and Ingredient Choices
Commercial elderflower cordial is the ingredient; elderflower liqueur such as St-Germain is different and contains alcohol. A freezer-chilled glass is optional: use only glassware its maker says is freezer-safe, or chill it in the refrigerator. Ordinary pasteurized bottled citrus juice can be used for the measured lemon option. No skin-hydration, silica, anti-inflammatory or cucumber bitterness benefit is claimed.
Preparation and Storage
Wash fresh produce under running water before cutting, and scrub firm fruit or cucumber. Use culinary botanicals sold for food or tea, not ornamental flowers. Keep ready-to-drink juices, opened milk and commercial mixers as their labels direct.
Refrigerate prepared bases promptly at 40 F (4 C) or below in clean covered containers. Cool hot infusions in shallow heat-safe containers or an ice-water bath; do not wait indefinitely for them to reach room temperature. Refrigerate within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 90 F (32 C). Keep party pitchers refrigerated or on ice at refrigerator temperature. Add bubbles and serving ice at the last moment.
Use fresh-fruit/herb bases the same day, or within 24 hours, for flavor. Use strained tea or homemade syrup within 3 days. These are conservative house quality targets, not tested shelf lives. Finished fizzy drinks are best served immediately. Follow any shorter ingredient-label limit. Honey is unsuitable for infants under 12 months.
More Drinks
- Lavender Honey Lemon Mocktail
- Elderflower Cordial Without Citric Acid: Lemon Recipe
- Cucumber Mint Fizz: A Refreshing Mocktail
- Mint Mojito with Rum and Lime for Cooling Summer Nights
Sources and Recipe Notes
Published sources inform the method. House portion sizes, recovery marks, flavor variants, clocks and shorter storage targets are specified here; no kitchen or shelf-life testing is claimed.
