Spring has fully sprung and we’ve already begun craving lighter, healthier, more refreshing fare.
To cleanse our bodies of the heavy winter stagnancy, juice cleanses are all the rage. With their focus on raw fruit and vegetables and high-doses of readily bioavailable vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, it’s an easy sell.
The Detox Retox is a perfect partner cocktail to reach for if you’re contemplating a cleanse: Cucumber is hydrating and is believed to help flush out toxins, raw honey is antimicrobial, basil is antibacterial, mint aids with digestion, and both herbs are high in antioxidants. (Let’s not talk about the gin right now.) It’s almost the weekend and it’s spring; it’s time for a celebration!
The Detox Retox (serves 2)
Notes: If you don’t have a juicer, cucumber juice can be made very quickly and easily by pureeing peeled cucumber in a blender and straining through a fine sieve. One large cucumber yields about ¾ cup strained juice.
- 2 Tbsp fresh mint (approximately a couple of sprigs)
- 1 Tbsp fresh basil (approximately 1 sprig)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 Tbsp honey, or more to taste
- ¼ cup cucumber juice
- 1 Tbsp water
- ½ cup chilled club soda
- 2 ounces gin
Method
- Fill 2 highball glasses with ice.
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint, basil, honey, lemon and lime juices and the water until the honey has dissolved and the herbs have broken down and released their juices.
- Add the cucumber juice and gin, and shake well to combine. Strain into the prepared glass and stir in the club soda.
- Garnish with a sprig of mint or basil, or both!
