Is the sign of a good friend someone who sends you pictures of cocktails and cocktail menus while on vacation? To me it certainly is.

Lauren M spent a few days in London earlier this year. She (and friends) visited some lovely dining (and drinking) establishments and I received quite a few pictures. I will admit that my first thought when I saw this cocktail was why was she drinking pickle juice? While it’s comprised of ingredients in pickles, it’s not actually pickled. Whew!

Lauren enjoyed this gin-cucumber-dill libation at Harrods Social by Jason Atherton – one of the many restaurants and bars at London’s famous department store. Atherton is a Michelin-starred chef with over 15 restaurants throughout Europe and Asia. And this cocktail was created by Gareth Evans, a world-class mixologist who previously worked for Atherton and also represented the UK at the World Class Bartender of the Year Final in 2013. Armed with this knowledge, I was determined to make this cocktail.

First I had to do a bit of metric (milliliters) to imperial (ounces) conversion as almost all recipes I found for this drink were written for the UK. Then make a decision about what form the cucumber should take as many recipes called for ‘cucumber water.’ Since cucumbers are about 95% water, I thought about puréeing one in my Vitamix and straining it. But decided that might be too much work for someone else who wanted to make this cocktail. Instead, I cut up some thick slices into quarters and muddled them along with some dill in a cocktail shaker before adding the additional ingredients. I then strained it through a fine mesh strainer to ensure that I didn’t get any cucumber pulp in the final cocktail.

While English gin is preferred given the origin of this drink, Hendrick’s (made in Scotland) is also a good option since one of its ingredients is actually cucumbers. All of the ingredients in this drink come together to form a very smooth and balanced cocktail. The gin, cucumber and dill flavors are subtle and softened by the floral elderflower liqueur (such as St. Germain). It’s simply delicious and was a lovely way to use some fresh dill from my herb garden.

While this is served up in a Nick and Nora glass (a coupe glass would work as well), you can also serve it in a highball glass over ice and topped with club soda.

Thank you, Lauren, for sharing your travels with me. And to Tripp W for the beautiful handmade cutting board in the photo.

Dill or No Dill

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Course Drink

Servings 1

Ingredients

2 thick rounds ~ ¼-inch of cucumber, cut into quarters (no need to remove the skin)
Large sprig of fresh dill
1-3/4 ounces gin see Notes
1/2 ounce elderflower liqueur such as St. Germain
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of smoked sea salt see Notes
Garnish with a small sprig of fresh dill and a half a round of cucumber

Instructions

In a cocktail shaker, muddle cucumber and dill. You want to release some of the cucumber juice.
Add gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice and salt. Add ice cubes to the shaker.
Shake for about 30 seconds to ensure a cucumber and dill flavor.
Pour through a fine strainer into a Nick and Nora or coupe glass.
Garnish with a small sprig of fresh dill and a half a round of cucumber.

Notes

* While English gin is preferred given the origin of this drink, Hendrick’s (made in Scotland) is also a good option since one of its ingredients is actually cucumbers.
* I used Maldon Smoked Sea Salt. You can also use traditional Maldon Sea Salt or any other sea salt.
* You could also serve this cocktail in a highball glass over ice and topped with club soda.