there may be a hurricane brewing over texas, but here in socal, we are headed into a heat wave. costa mesa is heading into our hottest time of the year and with no air conditioning and cake orders that require the OVEN, i'm looking for anything cooling these days. 

my friyay cocktail is no exception. cucumber makes this floral gin + st. germain combination very soothing for a sweltering summer day. bonus points if you serve it in a chilled glass. 

lemon + cucumber gin fizzle
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 3 minutes
total time: 5 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz gin. 1 oz fresh lemon juice. 10 thin slices of cucumber. .5 oz st. germain. 3-5 oz club soda. edible flowers for garnish (i used borage). shaker. muddler. strainer. 2 cups ice. 

in the bottom of your shaker, combine 8 of the cucumber slices, lemon juice and st. germain. 

muddle together until the cucumber is completely crushed. about 2 minutes. 

pour in half the ice and the gin and shake well till combined. about 30 seconds. 

fill your serving glass with the rest of the ice and the remaining cucumber slices. strain your cocktail over the ice. 

top off the drink with club soda to taste. 

garnish with edible flowers. 

enjoy! 

xo, a

lemon + cucumber gin fizzle
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 3 minutes
total time: 5 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz gin. 1 oz fresh lemon juice. 10 thin slices of cucumber. .5 oz st. germain. 3-5 oz club soda. edible flowers for garnish (i used borage). shaker. muddler. strainer. 2 cups ice.
in the bottom of your shaker, combine 8 of the cucumber slices, lemon juice and st. germain.
muddle together until the cucumber is completely crushed. about 2 minutes.
pour in half the ice and the gin and shake well till combined. about 30 seconds.
fill your serving glass with the rest of the ice and the remaining cucumber slices. strain your cocktail over the ice.
top off the drink with club soda to taste.
garnish with edible flowers.
enjoy!

friyay is usually my day off. but today, i subbed a class for an instructor who had a sudden obligation. i had a nice morning at home with wes, drinking coffee and researching cocktails and then i headed to the studio. all morning i had this nervous feeling i couldn't shake. i arrived at my class early, excited to teach to a group i don't usually have. five minutes before class, the teacher before me informed me that the speaker was malfunctioning. low tones of my music weren't coming through. making my music, well, lackluster. for a thirty minute spin class. sweet. 

and then i realized it is friday the thirteenth. sounds about right. so i took a deep breath, remembered it was friday and in a few short hours i would have a cocktail in my hand, and i got through it. 

luckily, i'm in for the evening and will be hunkering down to avoid further disaster. with this delicious cocktail in hand. 

i found this vintage cocktail in a really cool cocktail book that wes's mom andrea gave him for christmas. i flipped to the page purely because i thought the name was cute, but i fell for it after reading the ingredients. clean, bright and just a little hint of sweetness. i have some really beautiful fresh marjoram in my little garden at the moment and it was the perfect floral compliment to the gin and lime juice. if you can't find any marjoram in your local store, try subbing lavender or other floral herb you can find. 

in rickey + fresh marjoram
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 1 minute
active time: 1 minute
total time: 2 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz gin. 1 tbs lime juice. 1 tsp simple syrup. 4 oz club soda. 5 sprigs marjoram. lime wedge for garnish. 1 cup ice + ice for serving. stainer. 

start by removing the leaves from three of the marjoram sprigs. grab the top of the sprig with one hand and run your index finger and thumb down the length of the stem, removing the leaves as you go. 

in a mixing glass or shaker, combine the leaves, ice, gin, simple syrup and lime juice.

shake or mix until well combined and the marjoram leaves have bruised to release their oils. 

strain the gin mixture over ice into your cocktail glass. 

top off with your desired amount of club soda.

garnish with the remaining sprigs of marjoram and lime wedge and enjoy. 

xo, a

gin rickey + fresh marjoram
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 1 minute
active time: 1 minute
total time: 2 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz gin. 1 tbs lime juice. 1 tsp simple syrup. 4 oz club soda. 5 sprigs marjoram. lime wedge for garnish. 1 cup ice + ice for serving. stainer.
start by removing the leaves from three of the marjoram sprigs. grab the top of the sprig with one hand and run your index finger and thumb down the length of the stem, removing the leaves as you go.
in a mixing glass or shaker, combine the leaves, ice, gin, simple syrup and lime juice.
shake or mix until well combined and the marjoram leaves have bruised to release their oils.
strain the gin mixture over ice into your cocktail glass.
top off with your desired amount of club soda.
garnish with the remaining sprigs of marjoram and lime wedge and enjoy.