I had a cucumber martini last year in Tofino and vowed to recreate one someday. I don’t tend to drink a lot of martinis at home, so that cucumber martini has been hanging out in the back of my mind, sitting around and waiting to be brought to life. A cascade of cucumbers in our CSA box finally pushed this particular cocktail daydream into the light.
I have a bit of a quandry over this cocktail. I prefer a gin martini. Vastly prefer, in fact, since gin has, you know, actual flavor. And yet… I made some cucumber-infused vodka. So… I tried them both. One just a gin martini with cucumber slices shaken in the mix of gin and dry vermouth and fresh ones added in lieu of olives and the other with cucumber vodka, same process. Both very good. The cucumber vodka one was, as you might guess, more cucumbery. If you just feel like making a summery martini and don’t feel like messing around with infusing vodka, however, the gin version is mighty tasty.
If you need more of a recipe to make a martini than the hints I’ve given above, I wrote up Cucumber Martinis with you in mind.
A grind or two of black pepper is also an option (and was how the Tofino martini was served). I’m on the fence about it though. It’s good, definitely tasty, but it does distract from the cool, subtle flavor of cucumber. Give them both (all?) a try and let me know what you think.
Sara | 26-Nov-09 at 9:19 pm | Permalink
I’m going to suggest you try Hendrick’s Gin. They have a cucumber and rose gin. Supposed to make great cucumber martinis. A friend swears by them, I hate cucumbers though, unless they are pickled…