Stolichnaya Cucumber Vodka is a clear, cucumber-flavoured vodka bottled at 700mL, built around a savoury garden-cucumber character rather than anything sweet or confected. It sits in the flavoured end of the Stolichnaya range, and was the first new Stoli flavour released since 2012.

The nose is crisp and green, all sliced cucumber and cool skin, with a faint mineral edge behind it. On the palate that cucumber carries through cleanly and stays savoury, brushed with a little melon rind and a whisper of white pepper on the back half.

Texture is light and slippery rather than viscous, with the neutral spirit sitting quietly under the flavour instead of pushing through with heat. The finish is short, dry and refreshing, which is exactly what you want from a mixing vodka — it leaves the glass clean and does not linger sweetly.

Serve it very cold, straight from the freezer, or over plenty of ice with soda and a squeeze of lime. Stolichnaya Cucumber Vodka works particularly well alongside apple, mint, lemon and lime, so it is a natural in a cucumber martini, a long collins or a spiked lemonade on a hot afternoon.