She Only Wears Green: A Gin Cocktail
Photo: Marina Goldi
A verdant and herbaceous mix.
Chicago-based bartender Jeremy Owen Barrett describes this gin cocktail as a cross between a Last Word and a Southside. As a nod to Jaja’s lush greenery, the cocktail leans herbal and vegetal with mint, green Chartreuse, cucumber, honeydew, and gin.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. gin (Jaja uses St. George Terroir)
- 3/4 oz. honeydew melon juice
- 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz. cucumber simple syrup
- 1/4 oz. green Chartreuse
- 4-5 mint leaves
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- Cucumber Simple Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 or 1 whole cucumber
- Tools:shaker, muddler, strainer, fine-mesh strainer
- Glass:Collins
- Garnish:cucumber ribbon and mint sprig
Preparation
Add mint leaves to shaker and muddle lightly. Add the rest of the ingredients with ice. Short whip shake, then double strain over pebble ice in a glass.
Cucumber Simple SyrupPeel the cucumber and cut into 1/2-inch segments. Soak cucumber slices and peels in water for 15 minutes. Add sugar and cucumber-soaked water (with the cucumber segments & peels) to a pot, cook on low-to-medium heat while stirring occasionally until the sugar has fully dissolved and desired cucumber flavor is reached. Turn off heat and let syrup cool with cucumber segments still infusing for 30 minutes, then fine strain into a sealable container making sure no more cucumber pieces or sediment are left. Will keep for a month in the refrigerator.
TipUse half of a cucumber for a subtle flavor or a whole cucumber for a more dominating cucumber flavor. But Barrett prefers the former to allow the other flavors to sing.