At the suggestion of a Mr. R. Clifton, I set out to create cucumber margaritas for my weekly dinner with the fam. I did a little research about what makes a good margarita, and decided to make a version that was very close to a “traditional” sour drink, but with the clean, refreshing flavor of cucumber. The idea with all sour drinks is to combine a sweet flavor (orange liqueur) with a sour flavor (fresh-squeezed lime juice) to go with good booze (tequila).
I picked up the boozy portions of the mix from Uva Wines on Bedford:
Centinela Reposado.
Cointreau.
I also got some limes and a cucumber from a store down the street. In advance, I peeled a few limes and peeled/sliced up the cuke. I put these into a glass full of Cointreau, and smashed the lot of it with the end of a rolling pin. I let that deliciousness sit for a bit in a bowl:
I stole this from a Cook’s Illustrated Margarita recipe, which calls for zesting lemons and limes, and letting them sit with the tequila and liqueur overnight. I didn’t quite have that amount of time, and I didn’t have a strainer to get the zest out of the finished product, so I kept the pieces big and avoidable.
I poured the whole lot into a big pitcher, along with two measures of tequila, and one measure of lime juice.
And this was the result. A delicious, refreshing, and tart beverage. If you feel like it a little more traditional taste, I’d up the amount of Cointreau to make it a little sweeter and more approachable:
The recipe:
Cucumber Margaritas
1 part Cointreau
Peel of 2 Limes
8 slices peeled cucumber
2 parts Reposado Tequila
1 part Fresh-Squeezed Lime Juice
Ice
Pitcher
Drinking Vessels
- Muddle lime peels and cucumber slices with Cointreau. Allow to rest one hour.
- Pour Cointreau/Peel/Cucumber into pitcher with tequila, lime juice, and ice. Stir vigorously until cold.
- Serve in large glasses, scooping remaining lime peels and cucumber slices into each glass.
- Garnish with lime rounds.
