MSG Free Cucumber-Basil Salty Mint Lemonade Soda
This drink is the kind of thing you make once and immediately want every single day of summer. Fresh cucumber gets muddled down to pure juice, then layered with a honey syrup steeped in real basil and mint leaves — the result is floral, cooling, and just a little savory from a pinch of sea salt. That tiny hit of salt is what makes it taste like something you'd pay too much for at a fancy café, but here you're making it yourself with ingredients you can actually pronounce. Every component is whole and unprocessed, so there's zero guesswork about hidden additives or flavor enhancers sneaking into your glass. The honey syrup comes together in minutes on the stovetop, and the steeping step does all the heavy lifting to pull out those gorgeous herbal notes. Bright lemon juice ties everything together before sparkling water lifts the whole drink into something genuinely refreshing. Garnish with a cucumber slice and a sprig of herbs and it looks as good as it tastes.
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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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