Square One Cucumber Vodka
Knowing my interest in fine and interesting intoxicants, a friend of my purchased me a bottle of Square One Cucumber Vodka for my birthday. The liquor is organic and made from American rye. It comes in a very cool looking square bottle. Square One makes a few different flavors along with their plain vodka, but I was particularly please to get the cucumber as I am a gin lover, but not so much of a vodka lover. Since cucumber is a flavor that sometimes appears in gin and is often mixed with gin I thought this would be a hole in one. I visited their website, www.squareonevodka.com, and found a recipe for a “Cool Collins” which seemed simple and would allow the true taste of the vodka to show through. Before making the cocktail I took a shot of the vodka, solo. I was quite surprised by its bite. The spirit is definitely rough on the tongue and throat. I found the cucumber flavor a bit lacking. I often make cucumber water at home by slicing a cucumber up and placing it in a pitcher full of water. I think I was hoping for a taste more similar to this, but the vodka had more chemical notes to it. Once I mixed the cocktail, which contains some lemon juice and powdered sugar the harshness mellowed out a bit; however, the cucumber was not really present.
You can buy the bottle of Square One for as little as $26, so when comparing it to a brand like Absolute, which costs about the same if not more, Square One is not a bad deal. At least you are getting an organic American product for your money. But for my money, maybe just a couple dollars more of my money, I can get a much higher quality product.
- Connoisseur Michael