Gimlet
Gin and lime, sweetened just enough. Sharp, cold and simple; originally made with preserved lime cordial rather than fresh juice.
- MethodShaken
- GlassCoupe
- IceNone (served up)
- Strengthabout 17.0% ABV
- BaseGin
- Tastesour, refreshing
Recipe
| 60 ml 2 oz | London dry gin or Plymouth-style gin |
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | Fresh lime juice |
| 15 ml ½ oz | Simple syrup (1:1) |
Garnish. A thin lime wheel floated on top or cut onto the rim.
Method
- Chill a coupe.
- Put the gin, lime juice and syrup in a shaker and fill it with ice.
- Shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds.
- Double strain into the chilled coupe and add the lime wheel.
About the Gimlet
The Gimlet is gin and lime with a little sugar, shaken and served up. Made with fresh juice it is bright and tart, close to a gin Daiquiri; made the old way with sweetened lime cordial it is softer, sweeter and more candied. Both are worth knowing.
History
Earliest record 1922: Harry MacElhone, Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails
Documented
The drink depends on preserved lime juice. Lauchlin Rose of Leith patented a method of preserving lime juice with sugar rather than alcohol in 1867, the same year British law required merchant ships to carry lime or lemon juice against scurvy. The earliest known printed recipe is usually cited as Harry MacElhone's Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails (London, early 1920s): equal parts Plymouth gin and lime cordial, described as popular in the Navy. Raymond Chandler's novel The Long Goodbye (1953) has a character insist on half gin and half lime cordial, which helped fix the drink in readers' minds.
Legend and lore
The name is often said to come from Surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette, a naval doctor who supposedly urged officers to take their lime with gin. No contemporary source connects him to the drink. Another theory points to the gimlet, a small hand tool for boring holes; it is equally unproven.
Disputed or unclear: Different printings of MacElhone's book are dated 1922 or 1923, and a 1920 memoir of an American admiral may mention the drink earlier.
Variations
- Cordial Gimlet. The traditional form: 60 ml gin and 30 ml sweetened lime cordial, stirred or shaken.
- Vodka Gimlet. Vodka in place of gin; popular in America from the 1950s.
- Southside. Add a few mint leaves to the shaker.
- Gin Rickey. Gin and lime without sugar, lengthened with soda.
Bartender's notes
- Taste your limes. Juice varies in acidity, so adjust the syrup by 5 ml either way.
- A homemade lime cordial (lime peel and juice steeped in sugar) gets you close to the original without a commercial bottle.
