irma la douce

1 1/2 oz Hendrick's Gin
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Cucumber Juice (*)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. While the book lists no garnish, a cucumber wheel would do no harm.
(*) Peel, blend and pass through a sieve. Muddling instead of blending will work, albeit less efficiently.

When I got back from Tales of the Cocktail, my garden was in full swing. Back in May as I planted my cucumber seedlings, I was hoping that the crop would be good enough this year to make a certain cucumber-based drink a common occurrence. That recipe is the Irma La Douce which was created by the ladies of LUPEC Boston for their Chartreuse event at Green Street back in 2007. The drink was named after a movie starring Shirley MacClaine where she played a Parisian prostitute who wore bright green stockings. With Green Chartreuse and cucumber juice to work the theme, the recipe was a smash hit that night and we have made it several times since. Luckily, the ladies published it in their Little Black Book of Cocktails so we have access to it on our shelves.
The Irma La Douce's aroma was a combination of the cucumber and Green Chartreuse; the former's fresh vegetal notes transitioned well into the liqueur's herbal ones. The sip was a gentle citrus flavor that was softened greatly by the cucumber and simple syrup, and the swallow contained the botanical complexity of the gin and Chartreuse.