Steve?s Fairway Fizz: Food and Drink Photography

I don?t know what it?s like where you are but I?m experiencing the dog days of summer in spades. The temperature rose to 97 degrees today with no break in sight. What I need and maybe you, too, is a cold cocktail that epitomizes refreshment. How does a cucumber cocktail sound to you? I?m in.

This will be the signature cocktail for my friend Steve?s birthday party tomorrow. Since Steve is an avid golfer, I dubbed it with a special moniker and I?ll prepare cucumber ?golf balls? to skewer for garnish. The perfect gin for this drink is Hendricks?s with its curious infusion of cucumber and rose petals.

Ingredients

4-inch section of a peeled cucumber, seeds removed and cut into small cubes

2 oz. gin (preferably Hendrick?s )

Juice from 1 freshly squeezed lime

1 T sugar syrup*

Club soda

Procedure

Muddle cucumber in a cocktail shaker. Add gin, lime juice and sugar syrup. Add ice cubes and shake vigorously. Pour into a rocks glass filled with ice cubes. Top with club soda. For a garnish, skewer a slice of cucumber and a curled strip of cucumber peel. The garnish for Steve?s Fairway Fizz was a skewer impaling three ?golf balls? (scooped from the flesh of seedless cucumbers) and a sprig of fresh mint.

*Make sugar syrup by cooking I cup of sugar with 1 cup of water until sugar dissolves. Let cool and store in refrigerator.

Serves 1

Photographer Bill Brady http://bit.ly/9wFYxm

Recipe Provided by Phyllis Kirigin, aka sweetpaprika http://sweetpaprika.wordpress.com http://sweetpaprika.wordpress.com