The Gimlet - B&B Classic Cocktails

First, apologies for being so tardy with this latest installment of B&B Classic Cocktails. I know it's been a few weeks. But here comes a doozy of a tasty drink to make up for the wait...

The Gimlet.

There's as many variations on this drink as days in a month. So, this installment is going to be more of a "what works for me" rather than an attempt to be canonical. That said, on a couple points I'm deliberately going against the grain, but I'll get to that in a minute. The Gimlet is another drink that predates prohibition and is relatively simple, and easily adjustable to the tastes of the drinker.

First, your ingredients:



I like my gimlets shaken, as I'll be mixing with syrup and I find that the such drinks are more consistent when shaken. So here I've got my shaker, Gin, glassware, simple syrup, fresh limes, and my juicer.



Cut your lime and begin juicing. Make sure you cut off your garnish before you juice one side. Either a wheel or a wedge -- see below for how they look and how I like to serve them.



And juice...



And decant the juice into some variety of measuring cup. Make a note that I'm actually mixing two drinks here -- a single ounce of lime juice is usually plenty.



Now add an equal volume of simple syrup...



And stir thoroughly.



This 1:1 mixture of fresh-squeezed lime juice-to-syrup is going to take the place of Rose's Lime Juice in the traditional recipe. I find it richer, tarter, and sweeter, although a good bit more acidic.

And pour into your shaker...



And add your gin. Yes, gin. I will admit to being somewhat non-canonical here in my recipe, but I won't make compromises on the base liquor. A gimlet is made with gin. A vomit vomlet, however... feel free to experiment.





For this recipe, I'm using a 2:1 mixture of gin to mixer, because Boodles is a little more strongly flavored than the lower-shelf gins (Gordon's) I typically use for non-martini mixing. 3:1 is pretty good too, depending on your liquor and your palate, but as I mentioned, this is something that you can easily adjust to your own taste.

Now fill your shaker halfway with ice, and shake...



And strain.



Traditionally, a gimlet is usually served on the rocks (right). But I personally prefer mine served strained and up (left).



And there you have it. If you're serving it castlecraver-style, float a lime wheel as garnish. Otherwise, hang a wedge. Either way, you've just made a classic cocktail with fresh ingredients and an individual twist. And that's what mixing at home is all about. Superb.

Cheers, gents!



Oh, and check here for the rest of the Classic Cocktails series!

Hmm. While I have heard of vodka martinis, I have never, ever heard of a gimlet made with anything besides gin.

That looks like a mighty tasty drink. Thank you and please keep them coming.

Tim

Looks good.

I really like this series.. Keep up the excellent work.

ratcheer said:

Hmm. While I have heard of vodka martinis, I have never, ever heard of a gimlet made with anything besides gin.

That looks like a mighty tasty drink. Thank you and please keep them coming.

Tim

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My friend, whose dad owns a bar which my friend has managed since graduating college a couple of years ago, loves a vodka gimlet because he hates gin. He uses Ketel One, but otherwise the recipe is identical to this one.

When he makes them, I usually just shake my head and go back to drinking whatever free drink he just got me at his bar. I know my place.

Well done. (I like mine up, too.)

An icy cold gimlet can really hit the spot sometimes.

What's the ratio of sugar to water in the simple syrup? I think you said in another thread that you use 1.5:1.

Very well done. Adding a sprig of mint leaves to she shaker makes it a Richmond Gimlet.

Gimlets can be either vodka or gin. Yes, gin is traditional but the vodka version is *very* common.

Also, I like the Rose's lime. There's a touch of saltiness or something to it that just makes the drink for me. Dunno why... that's just how it goes, I guess.

arghblech said:

Gimlet's can be either vodka or gin.

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A nit-picky pet peeve of mine is when people totally change a drink and then still call it by it's original name. A Gimlet is a gin drink. When rum is used, it's called a daiquiri, not a "rum gimlet". Sub cachaca and it's called a caipirinha. How about a tequilla gimlet with a splash of Cointreau - oh, that's right, they call that a Margarita.

Nice job. I was about to pour myself a finger of Bourbon, but I think I'll make myself one of these instead. And as I understand the history of the drink you are being canonical in using gin. However, I understand that the drink was invented for Rose's, so in going fresh you are deviating slightly from the original. No one will fault you for that though.

arghblech said:

Gimlet's can be either vodka or gin. Yes, gin is traditional but the vodka version is *very* common.

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A gimlet, to me, is one of those drinks I'd be a bit hesitant to order at a bar. But, I can recall twice I've done so in the past... oh... 4-5 years or so, and both times I didn't think to specify when ordering and it ended up being made with vodka. Once was in Miami Beach, the other someplace on the Erie Islands.

Obsessed said:

What's the ratio of sugar to water in the simple syrup? I think you said in another thread that you use 1.5:1.

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Yup. That's what that particular batch was. If I'm making old-fashioned's the syrupy way (not with the sugar cube as illustrated in my tutorial), I like to use a little less sugar so I'll make my syrup closer to 1:1. If I'm making "fruity" drinks (and particularly if there's a lady involved), I usually notch up the syrup strength a little bit.

Man back in my youth while in the Navy I must have consumed gallons of these things. Of course fresh limes were hard to come by so we used Rose's Lime Water instead.

Thank you for this post. I found it hilarious that it appeared here the day after I bought a bottle of gin with the sole intent of trying this classic cocktail (and if i didn't like it the gin would be used for gin and tonics).

arghblech said:

Gimlet's can be either vodka or gin. Yes, gin is traditional but the vodka version is *very* common.

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Just because it's common doesn't mean it's right.


Awesome work, once again, Pat!

Its perfect timing because we are just entering the season where, like wearing white, it is proper to drink sweet, refreshing drinks. For me I go with gin and tonic (or sometimes vodka and tonic) or a gimlet, from tax day through September. From there the cycle turns to scotch, rye, bourbon or a manhattan.

The less dogmatic, simple solution, is the Martini...a drink for all seasons, places and times.

Greyfox said:

Man back in my youth while in the Navy I must have consumed gallons of these things. Of course fresh limes were hard to come by so we used Rose's Lime Water instead.

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I guess it was a time frame thing. I remember Rose's also. USMC but Department of the Navy also.

I just bought both some limes and some Rose's Lime Juice to make Gimlets. When I got home, I was in too much of a hurry, so I made them with the Rose's. They were good, though.

Tim

I made up a fresh batch of syrup this weekend, I've got to pick up some limes now.