Shellfish Free Cucumber Mint Sparkling Cooler
Fresh cucumber blended with cold water and strained until silky smooth, then brightened with lime juice and a homemade maple-mint syrup — this sparkling cooler is the kind of drink that makes a hot afternoon feel genuinely manageable. The mint simple syrup is a small but brilliant step, steeping fresh leaves in warm maple syrup until the whole thing smells like a garden. Every single ingredient here is naturally free of any seafood or shellfish concern, so you can serve it at a party or a backyard cookout without a second thought. Blending and straining the cucumber pulls out a clean, pale green liquid that looks stunning in a glass and tastes surprisingly refreshing without being overly sweet. A gentle pour of chilled sparkling water at the end keeps the bubbles lively, so resist the urge to stir too aggressively. Piled over ice with a few mint leaves and a lime slice, it's the kind of drink people will ask you to make again before they've even finished the first glass.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the mint simple syrup
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed, plus more for garnish
For the cucumber base
- 1 medium english cucumber (about 12 oz), peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- 1 cup cold water
To finish
- 2 cups sparkling water, chilled
For serving
- ice cubes, for serving
- lime slices, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the maple syrup and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the syrup dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add the mint leaves, and stir to submerge. Let steep for 20 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl, pressing the leaves to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the spent mint. Let the syrup cool to room temperature.
- 2
Add the chopped cucumber and 1 cup cold water to a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour through the fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher, pressing the solids with the back of a spoon to extract all the liquid. Discard the solids.
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