Gimlet
Gin and lime, sharp and cold. Born on Royal Navy ships with lime cordial; made today with fresh juice and syrup, which is a different and better drink.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the gin, lime juice and syrup to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with a lime wheel.
A thoughtful finish
- For a drink closer to the original, make a quick lime cordial: dissolve sugar in equal weight of lime juice with a little grated zest, and use an ounce of that in place of the juice and syrup. It is sharper and more fragrant than the bottled kind.
- A Gimlet has nothing in it but gin and lime, so the gin matters. A juniper-forward London dry gives the classic drink; a softer citrus gin makes a gentler one.
- Shake it harder and longer than you would a drink with egg or cream in it. The Gimlet wants to be very cold and slightly aerated.
Common mistakes
- Using bottled 'lime juice' from the supermarket as if it were fresh. It is either cordial, which is sweet, or preserved juice, which tastes of the preservative.
- Going half-and-half with cordial because Chandler said so. It is a famous line and a bad drink.
- Serving it on the rocks without adjusting. The drink was designed up; on ice it needs a little less syrup to stay sharp as it dilutes.
A few good questions.
Fresh lime or Rose's?
Fresh juice and syrup is the modern standard and the better drink. Rose's cordial is the historical version and some people like its particular candied flavour; if you use it, go about three to one gin to cordial, not Chandler's one to one.
Gin or vodka?
Gin is the Gimlet. A vodka Gimlet is a common and perfectly pleasant order, but it is a different drink with the same name.
What is the difference between a Gimlet and a Daiquiri?
Spirit. A Daiquiri is rum, lime and sugar; a Gimlet is gin, lime and sugar. The template is identical.
Can I add basil or cucumber?
Yes — a few basil leaves shaken in or a cucumber slice muddled first are both well-established modern variations. The Gin Basil Smash is the best known of them.
Variations
- Daiquiri — The rum version of the same template.
- Gin Basil Smash — Gin, lemon and basil.
- Southside — Gin, lime, sugar and mint.
- Bee's Knees — Gin, lemon and honey.
Where it comes from
c. 1870s–1920s · Royal Navy
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
Lauchlin Rose patented a method of preserving lime juice without alcohol in 1867, and his cordial — Rose’s Lime Juice — went to sea with the Royal Navy, whose sailors were already required to take citrus against scurvy. Mixed with the officers’ gin, the Gimlet was born, though nobody wrote it down for fifty years. The name is usually pinned on Surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette, who supposedly prescribed the mix, but there is no evidence he did; a gimlet is also the small tool used to tap a cask, which may be the real source. The drink’s most famous specification is Raymond Chandler’s in The Long Goodbye: half gin, half Rose’s, nothing else — which is, by modern standards, undrinkably sweet.
Sources
- Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, 1953 (novel)
- Harry MacElhone, Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails, 1922 (book)
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2015 (book)
Strength. About 1.47 US standard drinks at an estimated 20.1% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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