Cucumber Ginger Fizz

Cocktail Ingredients:

Vodka
2 English cucumbers,1 peeled and coarsely chopped, 1 left whole
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
2 bottles (750 mL each ) sparkling water
1/2 to 1 cup ginger simple syrup (recipe below)

Directions:

To infuse vodka place chopped cucumber and vodka in a non-reactive container.  Refrigerate 1 to 8 hours. Strain; discard cucumber.  Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use, up to 3 days.

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the remaining cucumber lengthwise into wide strips; discard seeds. Fill eight tumblers with ice and add 3 cucumber strips, 3 tablespoons infused vodka, and 1 to 2 tablespoons simple syrup. Squeeze, then drop a lime wedge into each glass.  Top with sparkling water and stir gently.

Ginger Simple Syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
one piece of ginger

Peel ginger and set aside. Mix water and sugar in pan and place over medium high heat, until it boils. Remove from heat add ginger and steep for one half hour.  Strain out ginger, can be stored for 1 week in the refrigerator.