Beef Free Cucumber-Basil Salty Mint Lemonade Soda
This sparkling drink is the kind of thing you make once and immediately want to serve at every summer gathering. Fresh cucumber is muddled and strained for pure, clean juice, then layered with a homemade honey-herb syrup that steeps basil and mint together until the whole thing turns a gorgeous pale green. A hit of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt round out the flavor in a way that makes it taste far more complex than the ingredient list suggests. The salt in particular is a quiet genius move — it sharpens every other flavor and gives the drink that slightly addictive, salty-sweet balance you'd expect from a craft cocktail menu. Everything here is plant-based and naturally free of any animal proteins, so it fits effortlessly into a wide range of dietary needs without any substitutions required. Topped with chilled sparkling water and garnished with a cucumber slice and a sprig of fresh herbs, it looks genuinely stunning in the glass. Whether you're hosting or just treating yourself on a hot afternoon, this one delivers serious refreshment with very little effort.
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Learn more →Ingredients
2 servings
For the honey syrup
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp water
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
For the drink
- ½ cup cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 ½ lemons)
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 cups sparkling water, chilled
- 1 cup ice cubes
For serving
- 2 thin cucumber slices, for garnish (optional)
- 2 small fresh basil or mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the honey and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until the honey fully dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the basil and mint leaves, and stir to submerge them.
- 2
Let the herb syrup steep off the heat for 10 minutes, until fragrant and lightly tinted green.
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