5 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 4 limes)
¾ cup vodka
3 Tablespoons Cointreau
¾ cup apple juice (if you're juicing the cucumber, you might as well juice an apple, too)
Instructions
Slice the half cucumber into rounds and reserve for garnish.
If you have a juicer, juice the whole cucumber, unpeeled. If you don’t have a juicer, quarter the cucumbers lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with a spoon and discard the seeds. Coarsely chop the cucumber and puree in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. You should end up with approximately 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of cucumber juice. If you end up with more than that, reserve for another use or add to the cocktail, if desired.
Place mint and lime juice in a pitcher and press on the mint leaves with a wooden spoon or muddler to extract the flavor from the mint leaves.* Add the 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons cucumber juice, lime juice, vodka, Cointreau, and apple juice and stir to combine.
Pour into 4 short glasses filled with ice. Garnish the glasses with cucumber slices and/or mint leaves.
Notes
*This can also be made with a cocktail shaker, if desired. Place ice cubes, mint and lime juice in a shaker and shake. Add remaining ingredients and shake. Strain into four glasses filled with ice. Garnish with cucumber and mint leaves.
To make this a mocktail, swap sparkling water for the vodka and cointreau.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/mint-cucumber-and-vodka-cocktail-recipe/