I always enjoy an unusual drink, and this cocktail brings together bitter amaro, fruity tequila, and the cool and refreshing notes of cucumber. Cucumber is an underrated cocktail ingredient, in my opinion — you see it occasionally in a gin & tonic but not often elsewhere. Though its flavor is subtle, it has a crisp note to it which adds a lovely vegetal note to give some savory depth to a cocktail, and it’s a natural fit for drinks using more vegetal gins or savory ingredients like tomato juice.
But I’m interested in the combination of cucumber with amaro, which has more bitter and herbal notes, and with tequila, which leans more fruit and agave-forward. It can add a layer of interest to more classic combinations like tequila and lime.
There are a few different ways you can make use of cucumber in your drinks, and this cocktail features two of them. Firstly there’s the ever-popular cucumber garnish: you can simply add a wheel of cucumber to your drink at the end to give it an extra crunchy crispness. The other technique is to muddle the cucumber along with a spirit before mixing the drink, which helps to pull out its flavors and infuse them throughout the drink.
The Last Lover
Created by Amante 1530
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Amante 1530
- 1 oz Blanco Tequila
- 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
- 2 oz quality soda water
- 4 cucumber rounds
- (Optional) Add 0.25 oz diluted agave nectar.
Method:
- Muddle 2 cucumber rounds with the first 3 ingredients.
- Fill Collins glass with ice and soda water.
- Shake other ingredients with ice, strain into glass.
- Garnish with remaining cucumber wheels.
