I stumbled upon the recipe for "The Beauty Elixir" cocktail and just had to give it a try. It's refreshing and makes me feel slightly less guilty about imbibing. The original recipe is lovely, but I've tweaked it a bit to make it a bit simpler based on the ingredients on hand.

The Beauty Elixir: The Marcher Way

Makes 2 cocktails

INGREDIENTS

• 4 slices of a small cucumber (I like the small kirby cucumbers for this), plus a few slices for garnish
• 1-1/2 ounces strawberry purée (see note below)
• 3/4 ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1-1/2 ounces of simple syrup
• 4 ounces gin
• 1 ounce dry sparkling wine, divided

DIRECTIONS

In a shaker, muddle cucumber until very soft and purée-like. Add strawberry purée, lemon juice, simple syrup, and gin. 

Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into 2 cocktail glasses and top with 1/2 oz. sparkling wine in each glass. Garnish with cucumber slice. 

Note: you can use frozen strawberry purée if you can find it, or you can make your own! To make your own:

• add one cup of strawberries to small food processor, along with a teaspoon of sugar or 2 teaspoons of honey. 
• purée the strawberries for a minute until smooth
• strain out seeds and any remaining solids through a fine mesh sieve