Latitude 42 Vodka · Recipe 06
Cucumber Elderflower Martini
The martini that smells like a garden party.
Ingredients
- 55 ml Latitude 42 Vodka
- 15 ml elderflower liqueur
- 25 ml fresh cucumber juice
- 10 ml dry vermouth
Method
Shake & fine strain. Serve in a Martini glass (chilled). Garnish with Cucumber slice + elderflower (if available).
Cucumber juice: blend ½ cucumber, strain through fine mesh. Use same-day.
The story
The cucumber martini has been on menus since at least the early 2000s, when London's cocktail scene embraced fresh-pressed juices as a legitimate ingredient category. The addition of elderflower — St-Germain practically invented the category when Robert Cooper launched it in 2007 — creates a combination so natural it feels like it's always existed. The cucumber's cool minerality and elderflower's honeyed sweetness overlap in the centre, with Latitude 42 providing the alcoholic structure that keeps this from being a sophisticated lemonade.
Tasting note
Crystal clarity with a green tinge. Cool cucumber on the nose, elderflower sweetness on the palate, and a clean vodka finish that reminds you this is a proper drink.