The Kentucky Maid

[notahumanissue]

On a trip to Little Branch about two weeks ago, the bartender made for me a Kentucky Maid. The ingredients are simple enough (mint, cucumber, rye, lemon juice, sugar), but I haven't seen a recipe anywhere. Since that trip, I've been making for my customers a deduced version, as follows:

Kentucky Maid

- Three or four cucumber wheels and four sprigs of mint, muddled together paying particular attention to extracting the cucumber juice.

- Healthy splash of fresh lemon juice, ~ 0.25oz

- Very small dash simple syrup

- 2 oz Rye

- Shake hard, then strain through a siv (I personally hate picking salad out of my teeth)

- Garnish with a mint sprig stabbed through a cucumber wheel

Is anyone familiar with this drink? Am I off? I was told, but couldn't really hear because of the music, that there is some etymology involved here -- something about a New York Maid, and maybe this being a cousin. I'll even take the barroom variety....

I really have no idea and the internet has failed me thusfar.

Thanks for your help,

-alex

[FrogPrincesse]

I was looking for more cocktail recipes by Sam Ross and I found the Kentucky Maid. And I saw that it even had its own thread on eGullet...

The ingredients are bourbon, lime, simple, mint, and cucumber. I would never have thought of pairing cucumber with bourbon, but it works really well!