Gordon’s Crisp Cucumber

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Ahhh Gordon’s. The venerable old name bearer of classic London Dry Gin has taken aim at the burgeoning world of contemporary gin with their new Gordon’s Crisp Cucumber.

Gordon’s predictably is a little conservative in their approach. Rather than tacking a radical approach at infusing some wildly novel botanical, they take on an oldie, but a classic. Cucumber is in some of the most popular [Miller’s, Hendrick’s] newer gins and therefore to only the stodgiest gin drinker whose tuned out the last decade or so will cucumber sound “new” or “exotic.”

But that doesn’t mean it can’t be good. Just because it’s been done, doesn’t mean it can’t be done better. So can Gordon’s, a torchbearer for gin’s classic style for the better part of 3 centuries take a step outside their box and make a good gin with cucumber?

Tasting Nose

Cucumber and citrus on the nose. A tad lemon, but there’s a nice bit of juniper in here. But Gordon’s Crisp Cucumber is clearly not regular Gordon’s. That faint vegetable note, although sweet, might be enough to push folks out of the comfort zone.

Taste is weak and slightly sweet at first, culminating rapidly with a flash of heat and juniper. The middle is where a lot of the traditional gin notes lie. A little bit of coriander, and some earthiness, a bit citrus. It’s nice. The finish is cooling, rather quiet but leaves a long lingering note of cucumber and juniper. Finishes quite smooth, but at 37.5% alcohol, you might expect this a little.  A little bit of bitterness on the long finish.

Cocktails

The promo material for Gordon’s crisp cucumber proudly states that it’s meant to be mixed with tonic. So of course that’s where I’m going to give it a try first. The cucumber comes out really nicely in a Gin and Tonic actually. Just adding a hint of sweetness, and a bright note of juniper. It really maintains a lot of that London Dry formula but with the added sweetness of cucumber. Quite nice, and understated. The cucumber is in nice balance.

Folks who like the idea of a martini but don’t like a lot of power might like this. Basically it would make a really easy sipping martini almost on its own. It doesn’t pack a lot of punch, so it can be overpowered in drinks, though I find that the flavor of the cucumber comes through somewhat even still.

My only objection on the cucumber note might be that it’s a tad too sweet. But that being said, it’s a very appealing and inviting flavor. I actually think it goes with Gordon’s quite nicely.

Overall, Gordon’s Crisp Cucumber

I was pleasantly surprised by Gordon’s cucumber. The flavors were nice, although a bit more on the sweet side. I could see this being a great gateway gin or a gin which could show how a contemporary can be added without compromising a traditional base. It’s so easy to drink that I could see myself drinking this in almost any situation.

 

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5 thoughts on “Gordon’s Crisp Cucumber”

  1. Dear Aaron,

    Thanks for your great review – I am looking everywhere to try to work out whether this new Cucumber Gordons has sugar added to it? Do you have any idea? I have to avoid sugar, like many diabetics, so the issue is whether they just added cucumbers / cucumber flavouring / extract, or whether they added an extra sweetener too… any ideas?!

    Many thanks and best wishes,

    Rosie

  2. Hi Rosie,
    Thank you for the compliment!

    While I don’t have an inside source to assure you one way or another, what I do understand is that it is a “distilled gin,” and not a “London Dry Gin,” which in terms of the legal guidelines of the E.U. that means that something was added post distillation. In many cases, these extra flavors are added with a bit of sugar, kind of like an Old Tom style gin. My educated guess is that since the bottle says “Cucumber *and* other natural flavors” there is some sweetening added in addition to the cucumber in this gin.

    If I come up with any more certain information one way or another, I will definitely update with another reply.
    -Aaron

  3. Awesome, thanks Gin-Guru! I think I’d better steer clear. I thought all the rules regarding foodstuffs and ingredients meant that legally all manufacturers had to declare, even if vaguely like ‘spices’ or ‘botanical extracts’… but sugar would seem a non-secret ingredient which could be safely declared. And possibly legally needs to be. Ah well, never mind. Thanks for your help and happy gin-ning 🙂 x