Yes, you read that right. Gin and Tonic Refrigerator Pickles ~ alcoholic pickles! Beautiful little Persian cucumbers basically pickled in a giant G&T. Gin, (I like Hendrick’s) tonic water, lime, and some juniper berries make a perfectly good pickling solution. What? You don’t believe me? Give it a try!
I can’t pass by small cucumbers without the overwhelming urge to take them home. They’re like a basket of puppies on the sidewalk, I just can’t ignore them. And once I got them home I knew I had to do the right thing and pickle them. But I’ve already posted a basic Refrigerator Pickle, so I figured I’d try to do something a little different this time.
You’ll need to pick up some Juniper Berries for this recipe. You can find them at better grocery stores, or online. Juniper berries are actually not berries at all, they are miniscule cones, from the juniper tree. They have a sort of piney, citrusy, sharp flavor, and while we don’t use them much in the States, they’re used as a spice in Europe. Most of us know them as the main flavor in gin. I love the flavor and the aroma, and it’s a perfect pairing with the pickles.
My husband and I taste tested these over the course of a week, and we got quite fond of them! I envision them alongside grilled burgers, hot dogs, or sandwiches, with or without an accompanying cocktail. It’s a good thing they are so easy to put together, because I can see a few more batches in my future!
If you love pickles like we do, you’ve got to try my Dill Pickle Potato Salad, it’s a huge hit with everybody! And once you’ve got that one under your belt, it’s on to my Dill Pickle and Brat Soup!
Other quick pickle recipes to try ~
Gin & Tonic Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
- 5-7 small Persian or pickling cucumbers
- 1 Tbsp of juniper berries
- 3/4 cup gin
- 3/4 cup tonic water
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 Tbsp Roses lime juice
Instructions
- Wash and trim the stem tips from the cucumbers. Slice them in half lengthwise, and then in half again. Trim them to the length of your jar. You want the spears to fit in the jar and eventually be completely submerged in liquid when you are finished.
- Mix the gin, tonic water, fresh lime juice and the Rose's.
- Lightly crush the juniper berries to release their flavor. Fit the pickle spears into a clean glass jar. Fill the jar but don't pack them in super tightly.
- Add the juniper berries, and then the liquid mixture. Top off with more tonic water if the spears aren't completely submerged.
- Cap the jar tightly and refrigerate. Let the pickles 'pickle' for 2 days before eating.
- The pickles will keep for at least a month in the fridge.
Don’t forget to pin these Gin and Tonic Refrigerator Pickles!
Absolutely brilliant, huge hit!
I love G&T and these pickles look great! I’m wondering if you can reuse the brine for more than one batch. With 3/4 cup of gin, they get expensive in a hurry if it’s one and done.
Yes, absolutely!
These are so wonderful! Did you use the sweetened Rose’s lime?
No, but you could!
They are AMAZING. I liked them early- a few days in when they were still crispy.
I love to enjoy refrigerator pickles right away, so crisp!
These look fun for a Fall cookout. I? only use diet tonic as the regular is very high calorie. Do you think the diet version would work in the recipe? Thanks….
I don’t think the actual pickles would be very high calorie, Judy, but you can definitely use the diet version, for sure.
Amazing recipe! I’m going to try this for sure! I want to do a post about cucumbers soon, will it be ok to feature your post?
Of course, thanks!
Lovely recipe thank you! I featured it on my blog http://www.colorfulcanary.com/2016/09/fall-flavors-19-jazzy-juniper-berry.html
Thanks!
This looks really yummy.
But what is juniper berries, where do I get them, and do we eat those too, or just for flavor?
You can find juniper berries in the spice aisle of large supermarkets, Asra, or you can always get them on Amazon. They are the berries of the juniper tree, and are used for flavor. They’re also used in making gin, which is why I used them in the pickling liquid.
the juniper berries just add flavor, and you can find them in the spice aisle in some larger supermarkets, and online, here.
hi i cant get baby cucumber like yours could it be made with large cucumber thinly sliced instead . thanks
Pickles are usually made with a different kind of cucumber, Jayne. You can use a regular cucumber, but it will have more seeds, more water, and a tougher skin. If you can find English, or seedless, cucumbers, the kind shrink-wrapped in plastic, that would be better.
Oh these look amazing Sue! I am sorry to be so far behind in my reading and commenting. I had a tremendously busy week and I see you have too! So many recipes to read about. Thanks for your faithful commenting and friendship. I bet it is hard to wait two days before eating these! What a very interesting and beautiful recipe. Cool, crisp with a lovely little wang! Happy Mother’s Day sweet lady!