The Porch Swinger

We created the Porch Swinger at Hope & Olive so far back, we cannot remember its derivation. I put it together and pictured it being the perfect beverage for sitting on the front porch swing in some Southern gothic drama. The original was simply muddled mint and cucumber with fresh lemon juice topped with soda. Since its inception, we have been juicing whole cukes, and straining, for a great, but very perishable, cucumber juice. We need to produce it almost daily. We also developed a simple mint syrup. The process of blanching and blending the mint with a batch of simple syrup is not a simple process, however. When done incorrectly—steeping the mint too long in the hot water before chilling—you can easily end up with a compost-flavored, brown mint syrup. Two of our staff have this process nailed, resulting in a perfect, bright-green color and fresh mint flavor. I am not one of them.