Cucumber Mint Gin Fizz

Week 423. Year 9. Tommy is 42. The crawfish are running and the driveway is set up and the neighborhood knows because the steam carries the invitation. Rémy at the burner, 42-year-old Tommy at the table with a beer, watching the boy who became a cook become a man who cooks. Luc (18) at LSU studying engineering. Colette (15) in high school, painting. The spring is the same spring — crawfish and azaleas and the particular heat of March in Louisiana — and the sameness is the prayer.

Made crawfish boil this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. Always enough.

There’s always a moment at the boil when the work is done and the food is almost ready and you just stand there with something cold in your hand, watching it all happen — Rémy at the burner, the steam going up, the neighborhood drifting over. This spring, I wanted that drink to be something a little more intentional than a longneck pulled from the cooler, something that tasted like the season itself. The cucumber mint gin fizz fit: cool and green and sharp, the kind of thing that feels like March in a glass, the right toast for a driveway full of people and a boy who became a man who cooks.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 1

Ingredients

2 oz gin
5 thin cucumber slices, plus 1 for garnish
8 fresh mint leaves, plus 1 sprig for garnish
3/4 oz fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/2 oz simple syrup
3 oz club soda, chilled
1 cup ice

Instructions

Muddle. Place the cucumber slices and mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Muddle firmly 8—10 times until the cucumber releases its juice and the mint is fragrant but not shredded.
Add spirits and citrus. Pour in the gin, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup. Fill the shaker halfway with ice.
Shake. Seal and shake vigorously for 15 seconds until the outside of the shaker is very cold.
Strain. Fill a highball glass with fresh ice. Double-strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the glass to catch any cucumber pulp or mint bits.
Top and garnish. Pour the chilled club soda gently over the top. Garnish with a cucumber slice on the rim and a fresh mint sprig. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cucumber Mint Gin Fizz — The Spring Toast That Belongs on the Driveway