Long live the cocktail!

The FG hopped Queasy Jet and flew to London this weekend to poke about and attend a lovely birthday party for a school-days friend in Essex. The birthday girl-slash-hostess purchased several sets of glassware, lashing of alcohol, mixers, fruit and herbs and checked out numerous cocktail recipe books from the local library (The FG does not kid about libraries) so as to host the most fabulous cocktail party Essex has ever seen. And it was.

The FG started with a French 75 and kept her champagne glass for the evening, refilling it with pure champagne when necessary. Others were less wise, but all survived the evening. On return to sunny EDI, she found this yummy sounding concoction in the Waitrose magazine, and thought it would have been a lovely addition to the event.

Zatoichi (makes 1)

2 cucumber slices, one 1 cm thick, one paper thin
pinch Wasabi paste (recipe says 1 cm, but really, is there a ruler in your bar kit? I thought not.)
2 tbsp fresh ginger juice (grate fresh ginger, enclose in cheese cloth and squeeze)
2 tbsp lemon juice
Vodka*
2 tsp simple syrup (boil equal amounts sugar and water until sugar is dissolved, cool)

Muddle the thick cucumber slice and the wasabi in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and remaining ingredients, shake, and strain into a chilled martini glass.. Garnish with the thin cucumber slice.

*the recipe says 40 ml, I have no idea how many ml are in a shot glass, nor do I know the size of your martini glasses. Make it work!