Gimlet Recipe
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Originally a gin-based drink with lime juice, the Gimlet has gained much more favor with the vodka crowd. Philip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye is instructed that a Gimlet could only be made with Rose’s lime juice. Although bartenders almost unanimously use Rose’s, the original gin Gimlet is vying with vodka to such a degree that you would be advised to specify which spirit you want. According to The Dictionary of Eponyms, British Navy Doctor T.O. Gimlette prescribed the drink as a medicinal tonic and as a dilution to gin, which he believed clouded the minds of the recruits when sipped neat.
Whether you serve your Gimlet neat or over ice, always shake the ingredients with plenty of ice first. Don’t substitute fresh lime juice for preserved lime juice—-doing so, with the addition of sugar, will produce a Gin Rickey.
- 2 ounces gin (or vodka)
- 1/4 ounce Rose’s lime juice
- Wedge of lime
- Shake gin and lime juice with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass or an Old Fashioned glass full of ice. Garnish with lime wedge.
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food
team.
Copyright Quirk Books
Small bit of errata... Shaken drinks are not "neat", they are "straight up".
When made with Stoli Vanilla, this tastes exactly like key lime pie. Addictive.
Ditto not serving on the rocks. If you must, make it a rickey instead.
I find a twist of orange peel is a better garnish than the lime wedge. Served up, it is a crisp slightly sweet drink which would in my opinion be too weak and diluted if served on the rocks.