Blue Grotto Empress Gin Martini

This is a stunning gin cocktail that infuses two wonderful flavors with an exquisite gin! It reminds us of the blue grottos around the island of Capri in Italy! Yes, it looks striking, but wait until you taste it! The refreshing cucumber pairs perfectly with the spicy and fragrant ginger in the Blue Grotto Empress Gin Martini to bring our favorite gin to new heights.

Making the Blue Grotto

We really didn’t want this to be a muddled cocktail as it just looks perfect without solids floating in the drink. So, peeling and grating the cucumber, then straining it through a cheesecloth, allows you to extract the juice and flavor of the cucumber in a very clean way. You could also do this in a food processor if needed.

The ginger flavor, which should be a secondary flavor in this drink, is extracted in the shaking of the drink.

How to achieve that beautiful blue hue?

The butterfly pea flower-infused Empress 1908 gin reacts to changes in pH to become purple-pink with more acidity, and lighter blue with alkaline ingredients. This drink has ingredients that are more alkaline (e.g., cucumber). With the naturally light green color of the cucumber juice, the result is a blue color with a hint of green like the beautiful waters and Blue Grottos off the island of Capri in Italy.

But a beautiful drink doesn’t make a great cocktail – it’s all about that taste! And when you pair cucumber with ginger and a high-quality gin like Empress 1908, the result is a cool and refreshingly delicious cocktail with a breathtaking color!

This is a cocktail for every season, every occasion and, maybe every day that ends in a “y.” Enjoy a beautiful concoction that tastes as amazing as it looks!

Enjoy!

We hope you enjoy this Blue Grotto Empress Gin Martini! If you give it a try, leave us a comment below or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!

Looking for more cocktails like this? Check these out:

• Frosted Cranberry Empress Gin Cocktail
• The Empress Maid of Honor
• The Great 1908 Blizzard Cocktail
• Spiced Pomegranate and Rosemary Gin Spritz

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Blue Grotto Gin Martini

Course: DrinksDifficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

0

minutes

Total time

5

minutes

Ingredients

• ½ large cucumber

• 2 oz 2 Empress 1908 Gin

• 1.5 tsp 1.5 simple syrup (2:1)

• 1 Tbsp 1 minced fresh ginger

Directions

• Peel and grate the cucumber into a bowl with its juices (alternatively you can use a food processor). Once grated, wring the pulp and juice using a cheesecloth or clean tea towel, or strain through a fine mesh cocktail strainer (see note) to remove the chunks from the cucumber juice.
• Add 1.5 oz of cucumber juice, the Empress 1908 gin, simple syrup, and minced ginger to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for a minute. then pour straight up through a fine mesh cocktail strainer into a Nick and Nora glass (or coupe) and garnish with a cucumber wheel.

Notes

• If using a fine mesh strainer, your cocktail will be a bit cloudier and may contain more pulp compared to using a cheesecloth to strain the juice.
• Due to the color changing nature of the botanicals, even small variations in pH of local ingredients can affect the color of this cocktail. Even the water used in the ice cubes can change the color slightly. For best results, make sure you peel the cucumber before grating it and use filtered water for your ice cubes.

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