Summer is here, the sun has been shining down and the garden has burst into life. There is nothing nicer that sitting in the garden on a sunny day, listening to the bird sing, the bees buzz and enjoying the scent of the flowers. A good book and a cold cocktail in a glass makes the day perfect, you can laze and enjoy the sun without feeling guilty. This month Belleau Kitchen has challenged us to create a random cocktail for the random recipe challenge. The idea was to pick a cocktail recipe from a random cocktail book and make it. Strangely I do not own any cocktail books, a definite oversight.

Looking though my selection of cookery books I found that a number of them contained cocktail recipes. All was not lost, I placed these in a pile, pulled out one at random and choose a random cocktail recipe. It turned out to be an Apple, Cucumber, Elderflower and Mint Virgin Cocktail from James Ramsden’s book Do Ahead Dinners.

This is a great book, dinners you can prepare ahead of time that allow you to dish up without being frazzled when the guests arrive. Anything that makes life easier when entertaining has got to be a winner.

Back to the cocktail, Apple, Cucumber, Elderflower and Mint Virgin Cocktail seemed to be an unusual combination of flavours. I was a bit disappointed it was a non-alcoholic cocktail, I was looking forward to whipping up a Tequilla Sunrise or something equally exotic. You can easily remedy this by adding a splash of vodka or gin to the cocktail. I think either of these would complement it perfectly. The Apple, Cucumber, Eldeeflower and Mint Virgin cocktail is a lovely refreshing drink, perfect for a Summer day. The only drawback is that it is a bit long to say!

Apple cucumber elderflower and mint cocktails

The cucumber and mint added a delicate flavouring to the apple and elderflower mix, a delicate blend of summer flavours, perfect served over ice. A large jug of this would be ideal at a barbecue, a refreshing drink for the children and adults who have to drive home. It is also a great way to use the mint rambling wild in my garden, it is determined to take over one of the flowerbeds.

Apple Cucumber Elderflower and mint cocktail

Apple, Cucumber, Elderflower and Mint Virgin Cocktail

Ingredients

400 ml 14 fl oz apple juice
2 tbsp elderflower cordial
juice 1 lemon
soda water
ice
lemon segments
mint sprigs
cucumber slices

Instructions

Mix together the lemon juice, apple juice and elderflower cordial in a large jug and leave to chill in the fridge.
Add ice into a tall glass.
Pour the apple juice mix into the glass and top up with soda water.
Garnish with the cucumber, mint and lemon slices

I didn’t have any lemons left for garnish so I added some lime slices instead. I think the green colour was ideal with the cucumber and mint, and it added a touch of the tropics to the flavour. The jug was soon finished, I will have to make a larger jugful next time. What drinks do you like to enjoy whilst lazing in the sunshine?

5 Comments

oooh, I love the sound of this! Cucumber is so refreshing in a cocktail or even just in iced water. Adorable random recipe, thank you so much for the sunny photo and the lovely entry x