Serves 1
Our favorite city deserves a fabulous cocktail. I’ve called this drink the Midtown Fox, because Paul and I met at Fox News in midtown Manhattan. New York City will always be special to us, because it’s where we started our wonderful life together. The first Broadway show we saw together was On the Town, and you know what town it is! Paul loves Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” and my favorite city song is “Empire State of Mind,” a duet with Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.
I thought it was appropriate to use gin in my New York cocktail, because the British loyalist stronghold during the American Revolution was New York City. We kicked out the British but kept their alcohol. Thanks, King George!
1 thin cucumber slice (cut lengthwise)
3 ounces gin
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce simple syrup
6 dashes El Guapo Cucumber-Lavender Bitters Club soda
Wrap a cucumber slice around the inside of a highball glass. Fill the glass halfway with ice, making sure that the cucumber slice remains pressed against the interior of the glass. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bitters. Shake vigorously for 5 seconds. Strain the mixture into the highball glass and top off with club soda.