Cucumber-Sake Sparkler: A Refreshing & Fizzy "Simple Saturday Sipper"

There seems to be an awful lot of green happening on my blog this week so why not continue it with today's "Simple Saturday Sipper" this refreshing Cucumber-Sake Sparkler.

My local co-op had R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Essence on sale so I tried the cucumber flavor. Very spa-like, light and good. I like that the ingredients are just carbonated spring water, organic brewed lemon extract, organic natural cucumber extract, organic lemon juice concentrate, and citric acid--no added sugars or artificial ingredients. It is good on its own, but I got to thinking it would be great in a drink and then my thoughts turned to sake as they sometimes do. I wanted to pump up the cucumber flavor so I juiced a cucumber and lemon together to come up with a base juice. (If you don't have a juicer you could use a blender). I used the base, added some sake and topped it off with the sparkling cucumber essence. It was good, but a teaspoon of agave gave it a little sweetness and brought out the flavors.

photo from R.W. Knudsen website

Cucumber-Sake Sparkler

by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Recipe is for one serving but is easily multiplied)

1/3 cup cucumber-lemon juice*

2 oz sake

1 tsp agave syrup (optional)

4 oz Sparkling Essence Cucumber or soda water

cucumber spear or slice to garnish

Place cucumber-lemon juice in the bottom of glass, add sake and stir in agave syrup if using. Fill with ice if desired and add sparkling cucumber water. Stir, garnish with thin cucumber spear and serve.

*For cucumber-lemon juice base--For juicer: place 1 large cucumber and one lemon in juicer, juice on low, strain and reserve. (I left the peels on but you could peel them too--I'm just lazy and like the darker color!) Can also be made in blender--peel and chop cucumber and place in blender jar, squeeze in lemon, blend until smooth, strain and reserve--with peeling the cucumber and just adding the lemon juice you will get a lighter green base. (Makes about a cup of base depending on the size of the cucumber).

Notes/Results: Light, fresh and really good--this is a simple drink that would be great with your favorite Asian food. I used some local small Japanese cucumbers because that is what i had on hand, but any cucumber will work. If you are not a sake fan, replacing it with a lemon vodka or even gin would also work well. I will make these again.

Happy Saturday!