What does a cucumber gimlet taste like?
A cucumber gimlet tastes like a spa day with a kick: cool, green cucumber, tart lime and piney gin, crisp and only lightly sweet.
Cucumber gimlet
cool, green and zippy
A gimlet is gin, lime and a little sugar. The cucumber version muddles or juices fresh cucumber into it, which makes it taste cooler, greener and softer around the edges. The gin's juniper (the piney berry that flavors gin) plays nicely with the cucumber, and the lime keeps it bright and sharp. It's refreshing in the way a cold slice of cucumber is refreshing. Some bars use Hendrick's, a gin that already leans on cucumber and rose. Vodka versions exist too, and taste cleaner and simpler.
Where you’ll see it
On spring and summer menus and at most modern cocktail bars, served up in a coupe or over ice, garnished with a thin cucumber slice or ribbon.
Order it if you want something crisp, green and refreshing that is not sweet.
Quick questions
- Is a cucumber gimlet made with gin or vodka?
- Usually gin, but vodka versions are common. Gin tastes more herbal and piney, vodka cleaner and more about the cucumber.
- Is a cucumber gimlet sweet?
- Only lightly. It leans tart, with lime doing most of the talking and just enough sugar to round it off.