Easy to make and perfect for snapping pictures of, this Cucumber Empress Gin and Tonic Cocktail is as delicious as it is pretty! Empress Gin creates the most stunning lavender and blue color in this drink, and the notes of both fresh mint and basil make it taste delightfully fresh. Serve this to friends or enjoy all on your own for the best springtime treat!

A glass is filled with clear, fizzy liquid and thin cucumber slices.


Cucumber Empress Gin and Tonic

If you’re looking for the most wonderful cocktail to serve at your next spring or summer gathering, you’ve found it! Sparkling soda water mixes perfectly with pretty Empress gin, mint, basil, and cucumber to create a drink that’s both boozy and supremely refreshing. When I sip on this easy to make cocktail, images of garden parties and the summer sun come to mind.

The magic of Empress Gin is that it contains blue pea flower as a key ingredient, which means it changes color based on the ingredients it’s poured with. This recipe calls for soda water, which keeps the drink a pretty blue color with touches of lavender in the right light. If you want to add an additional splash of citrus for a pink hue, consider squeezing in some fresh lemon juice!

During the warmer months, we need drinks on hand that make us feel refreshed, and that’s what this Empress Gin cocktail does. It’s light, herbaceous, sparkling, and made with a simple combination of easy ingredients. Whether you’re lounging by the poolside reading a good book or hosting a garden party, this Cucumber Empress Gin and Tonic cocktail is sure to be your new spring and summertime best friend.

A shot of gin is being poured into a half full glass.

How to Make It

This picture perfect gin cocktail is easy to make and ideal for sipping on a sunny day!

Prepare the cucumbers. Use a vegetable peeler to cut thin strips from the cucumber then press them to the inside of a dry rocks glass.

Add the herbs. Roughly chop 4 pieces of cucumber and add it to the glass. Add the basil and mint leaves and muddle.

Pour the liquids. Add a handful of ice and pour in the soda water followed by the Empress gin.

Enjoy! Add a slice of lime to garnish. Stir, serve and enjoy your refreshing cocktail!

Multiple gin cocktails are presented on a serving platter next to a bottle of Empress Gin.

Tips and Tricks

  • The cucumber will easily stick to the inside of the glass and won’t move when the liquids are  added unless it becomes dislodged when you stir the drink.
  • Muddling a cocktail is a technique used to release the flavor of what’s being muddled into the  drink itself. To do this, press down and twist your muddle into the ingredients. If you don’t have  a muddle you can use the back of a spoon or even the end of a rolling pin!
  • To make this drink a little sweeter, you can add an oz of simple syrup. For more details on that, check out How to Make Simple Syrup!
  • If you do decide to add a splash of lemon juice for that citrus taste and pink hue, make sure it’s FRESHLY SQUEEZED! The bottled stuff just won’t cut it in this fresh as can be beverage.

Can I make this cocktail ahead of time?

Here’s the thing. You can multiply this recipe as much as you need to if you want to make a pitcher, but I don’t recommend doing so too far ahead of time. The soda water has all of those sparkling bubbles that help make the drink so good, and the longer it sits, the flatter the drink will become.

Three full glasses are garnished with limes, cucumber, and herbs.

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A glass is filled with blue, fizzy liquid and thin cucumber slices.

Get the Recipe: Cucumber Empress Gin and Tonic Cocktail

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 2 minutes
A lively, vibrantly colored cocktail that's equally refreshing, this easy Cucumber Empress Gin Cocktail is a stunner for any gathering.
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Ingredients

  • 1 small cucumber
  • 4 basil leaves
  • 4 mint leaves
  • 4 ounces tonic or soda water, Tonic water will cause a pinker hue, where soda water will cause a blue hue.
  • 2 ounces Empress gin
  • Lime, to garnish

Instructions 

  • Use a vegetable peeler to cut thin strips from the cucumber then press them to the inside of a dry rocks glass.
  • Roughly chop 4 pieces of cucumber and add it to the glass. Add the basil and mint leaves and muddle.
  • Add a handful of ice and pour in the tonic water followed by the Empress gin. 4. Add a slice of lime to garnish.
  • Stir, serve and enjoy.

Notes

The cucumber will easily stick to the inside of the glass and won’t move when the liquids are added unless it becomes dislodged when you stir the drink. •
Muddling a cocktail is a technique used to release the flavor of what’s being muddled into the drink itself. To do this, press down and twist your muddle into the ingredients. If you don’t have a muddle you can use the back of a spoon or even the end of a rolling pin! •
Empress gin is a color-changing gin. It’s made from the blue pea flower blossom and is well known for its vibrant indigo color. We’ve used soda water in this cocktail so that the gin stays blue. If you were to add tonic water, or something acidic like lemon juice then this would result in a cocktail with a pink hue.
Calories: 170kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 32mg, Potassium: 439mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 470IU, Vitamin C: 11mg, Calcium: 60mg, Iron: 1mg
Author: Kellie
Course: Beverage, Cocktail
Cuisine: American