Comparing Cucumbers
The lighter syrup was a simple syrup with pureed cucumber that sat in the fridge for half a day, then got strained. I used powdered sugar because that's what I had.
The darker syrup was made by pureeing and straining a cucumber, then bringing that juice to 145° while mixing in Sugar in the Raw.
A bartender warned me about heating the vegetables and giving it a "soupy" taste, and they had a point. The immersion syrup is less sweet and more watery, but has a more refreshing cucumber flavor. The heated syrup is sweeter, but doesn't have that fresh crispness. Both are okay but neither are great.
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I have those glasses I think I’ve broken 6 of them.
They're my wife's. I'd trade you fates: I think they're kinda ugly but they simply will not break on me. I have broken a nice coupe and a fancy crystal goblet though.
As required by law: a cocktail. Lime, darker cuke syrup, gin. Tastes fine even though it looks like brussel sprouts.
you might want to look into freeze clarification. (never done it myself just know that people use it)
noted
I'm naming this drink Blind Man's Buff because it's nice but only if you don't look at it. I added a splashy splash of sparkling water.
A blender can quickly infuse something like this into vodka, you might try making a little cucumber vodka instead of trying to get the flavor into the syrup? I've used it with ginger and also celery. Blend then strain.
I would just be chucking fresh cut cucumber into the tin I'm using or muddling with ingredients in a vessel before adding ice and stirring. Make an eastside like this and compare with eastsides made with your syrups instead and let me know how it is.
2 gin, 1 simple, 1 lime + cut cucumber as desired shaken and strained for quick reference.
I found some success simply mixing cucumber juice with simple syrup, sort of like a cucumber aqua fresca, but it wasn't as... cucumbery as I wanted. It worked well enough for a cucumber gin fizz, but I think there must be a better way to extract cucumber flavor for bright refreshing punchy cucumber drinks.
The cucumber watermelon aqua fresca I made worked like a charm and did brilliantly in a tepache and tequila cocktail I made with it. Maybe cucumber is naturally mild and the deficiencies in the flavor were hidden by the presence of watermelon.
Cucumber and watermelon flavors are kind of adjacent so I can imagine the watermelon hiding the cucumber.