Cocktail of the Week

Cucumber meets jalapeno in a customer-inspired Mandarin Bar cocktail

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Photo: Steve Marcus
Sabrina Chapman

Mandarin Oriental, the international hotel group with a reputation for luxury and service, has done it again. This time with a cocktail.

As the story goes, Mr. Olsen, a regular at Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, was chatting with bar manager Michael La Penna about cocktails and suggested an interesting ingredient combination. One thing led to another, and the resulting creation, the Spicy Cucumber ($18), was added to Mandarin Bar’s cocktail menu.

This guest-inspired concoction captures jalapeño’s sensational heat, cucumber’s cooling abyss and ginger’s “wake me up before you go, go” effect. Muddle up a batch to excite guests for home entertaining, or ride the trail of luxury to the 23rd floor of Mandarin to taste the heat with a view.

Spicy Cucumber

Ingredients:

2 oz. Crop Organic Cucumber Vodka

1 oz. fresh lime juice

1 oz. ginger-infused simple syrup

1/2 oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur

1/2. jalapeño (sliced lengthwise)

7 English cucumber slices

splash ginger ale

jalapeño cap (for garnish)

Method:

Muddle 1/2 jalapeño and four English cucumber slices in a cocktail mixer. Add vodka, lime juice, simple syrup and ginger liqueur. Shake and pour over ice in a tall glass. Top with ginger ale and garnish by sliding three thinly sliced cucumbers down the side of the glass and topping the rim with the jalapeño cap.

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