About That Giant Cucumber Slicer Taking Over DC Streets This Week

From December 13-16, DC will no doubt notice a new giant, mobile Cucumber Slicing Machine – powered by a man on a penny farthing – on its city streets.  Sure, it’s odd and unusual, and obviously the largest and most utterly inefficient image002cucumber slicer known to man, but it has a purpose.  It’s the Hendrick’s Grand Garnisher!

Hendrick’s Gin Ambassador Fred Parent is coming to town to unveil the monstrosity that’s “traveling the U.S. with the sole purpose of offering the most beautifully garnished Hendrick’s Gin cocktails ever to grace a glass,” according to co-Ambassador Mark Stoddard.

After leaving New York in mid-June (World Cucumber Day), the Garnisher has visited select cities before coming to DC this week.

Why cucumbers?  “As the core infusion that makes our gin unusually exquisite, we feel the cucumber deserves not only respect but wonder,” Hendrick’s offers.  And Hendrick’s Gin drinks are always garnished with a cucumber, never the perfunctory image001lime.

“The Hendrick’s Grand Garnisher” can achieve road speeds of up to 25 mph, thanks to a hybrid powertrain combining a large diesel motor and a well-dressed gentleman pedaling a large-wheeled bicycle. The 38-foot-long device relies upon an elaborate system of pneumatic tubing, interlocking gears and rotating blades to slice up to 18 cucumbers per hour. “It’s not the most efficient way to garnish a cocktail,” explains Stoddard, “but we do believe it is the most spectacular.”