By Steph Farrar

I have loved Gin for a very long time. I even capitalize the word when I don’t need to. If I’m able to go out for a nice dinner with my husband and perhaps don’t have to wake at dawn the next morning, I will start my night with a Gin martini. Extra dry, basically zero vermouth, and tons and tons of olives. I’m an olive fanatic. It's even possible I drink Gin so I can eat the olives.  No wait, I love Gin. But the olives really help soak up the booze while I’m waiting for an appetizer, hopefully Malpec or Kumomoto oysters.

But enough about me. Let’s talk about you, enjoying Gin, even if you never have before. I can break you. And I will with this drink. 3 ounces of Gin sounds like a lot, I know. Most drinks are four ounces though, and we get a little soda water in there, and veggies and herbs, so whatever. Enjoy your healthy, well-rounded cocktail. Feel good about yourself.

I based this little concoction on a ‘mocktail’ I found in Food and Wine's August 2012 issue. I know cucumber and Gin make sense. And cucumber and dill love each other. So partnering the three seemed like a win. And I was right. I’m going to call this drink “For Patty,” cause she’s a serious Gin lover. And I’m a serious Patty lover.

You know what I mean. Just drink it. And please eat some oysters if you can.

Dill, Cucumber Gin Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces Gin, preferably Hendricks or Plymouth

• 1/3 cup cut cucumbers, plus one disk for garnish

• 2 paper-thin, lengthwise slices of cucumber

• 1 tsp dill finely chopped, plus sprig for garnish

• 3 wedges of lime (and/or lemon), one for garnish

• 1 tbsp agave nectar splash soda water

Directions:

Place cucumber, dill, agave syrup and juice of two lime wedges in a martini shaker and muddle together, breaking down the cucumber and lime. If you have a mortar and pestle that will work as well. I didn’t have a muddle this day, so I found a nice wooden ice cream scoop with a flat end. Worked great.

Line a highball glass with cucumber skin and fill with ice.

Fill shaker 3/4 with ice and add gin. Shake all ingredients well. I like this drink frothy.

Strain cocktail into cucumber lined glass. Fill with soda water.

Garnish glass with lime and cucumber wheel, and a sprig of dill.

Add a straw and enjoy.