How the Gimlet Became the Ultimate Gin Cocktail

CONTENTS:

1. Gimlet ingredients
2. When was the Gimlet created?
3. The original Gimlet recipe(s)
4. DIY lime cordial recipe
5. The 'winning' Gimlet recipe
6. Gimlet variations

A Favourite Gin Cocktail

We recently hosted a poll to decide once and for all what the best gin cocktails were. With over 500 responses we were surprised when a few of out favourites didn’t make the top 20 and several others that reached higher than our expectations. But, the Gimlet taking out one of the top positions in the 20 best gin cocktails was no surprise!

Gimlet Ingredients

The 150+ year old cocktail is a combination of only two (or sometimes three) ingredients–navy-strength gin, which sits at 57.15% or above, and lime cordial. The latter of which can be formulated in several different ways, but more on that later.

Pictured: Gimlet featuring Tom Yummy Gin

When was the Gimlet created?

The drink’s background goes back to at least 1867 when the British government mandated that ships stock rations of citrus juice to prevent scurvy caused by a severe lack of vitamin C. Initially the ships received rations of Sicilian lemon juice before being replaced with West Indian limes. The lime juice was often mixed with neutral spirits to preserve it for long voyages, at least until a ship provisioner named Lachlan Rose developed a recipe to preserve the lime juice with sugar instead of alcohol. His creation was later branded as Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial.

The exact history of who was the first to combine the lime cordial with the navy gin rations is unknown but we’re glad they did.

The drink's first appearance in print was in Tom Bullock’s The Ideal Bartender in 1917. It omitted the Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial and was listed under the name Gillette Cocktail.

Gillette Cocktail–Chicago Style (1917)

• Using a large mixing glass; fill with lump ice.
• Juice ½ lime.
• 1 ½ jiggers Burnette’s Old Tom Gin.
• ½ teaspoonful bar sugar.
• Stir well and strain into cocktail glass.

It was then featured 5 years later with Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial under the name Gimlet in Harry MacElhone’s 1922 ABC of Mixing Cocktails.

Gimlet–Original Recipe (1922)

• ½ Coates’ Plymouth Gin
• ½ Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial
• Stir, and serve in same glass. Can be iced if desired.
• A very popular beverage in the Navy.

It was the latter equal parts recipe featuring Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial that was most prevalent in cocktail books up until the 1940-50s. But once bartender’s started reaching for fresh ingredients in the late 1990s during the cocktail renaissance it reverted back to a recipe more similar to the Gillette Cocktail.

Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial is a far cry from Lachlan Rose’s original recipe, now consisting of water, high fructose corn syrup, lime juice concentrate, preservatives, flavours and synthetic colouring.

The Modern Gimlet

Most modern bartender’s choose to forgo the Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial and make the cordial with a combination of fresh lime juice and simple syrup.

Although it can be further improved by making your own homemade cordial which incorporates extracting the essential oils from the lime peel for an even punchier, flavourful lime cordial.

DIY Lime Cordial

• Peel 5-6 limes
• Juice the limes and weigh the juice (approx. 150g)
• Add the equivalent weight of sugar to the peels
• Muddle the sugar and peels to start the extraction process
• Rest for 4+ hours (or overnight)
• Add the lime juice to the sugar (approx. 150g)
• Dissolve sugar in the juice
• Strain and transfer into a sterilised bottle

Gimlet (with a Regal Shake)

The editor’s of Punch Drink invited 8 of America’s best bartenders to find out what the “ultimate Gimlet recipe” was. The common factor amongst the top 3 submissions was the use of a regal shake.

A regal shake is the term used when a citrus peel is added to the cocktail shaker in order to extract some of the peel’s essential oils.

So, if you’re feeling a little lazy and don’t want to go to the effort of making your own lime cordial then you can emulate the flavour by simply throwing in a lime peel into the shaker, give it a decent shake and voila! Your own ultimate Gimlet without the prep required to make your own lime cordial.

Punch Drink's Winning Gimlet Recipe:

Gimlet Variations

The Gimlet is an easy cocktail to riff on. Simply substitute the sweetener with a liqueur, muddle herbs into the drink or do a combination of both to create your own unique Gimlet variation.

Here are a few to try:

Southside

• 60 ml gin
• 22.5 ml simple syrup
• 15 ml lemon juice
• 15 ml lime juice
• 4–6 mint leaves

Tom Yummy Gimlet

• 60 ml Tom Yummy Gin
• 20 ml lime juice
• 15 ml simple syrup

The Bennett

• 60 ml old tom gin
• 22.5 ml simple syrup
• 22.5 ml lime juice
• 2 dashes of Angostura bitters

French Gimlet

• 60 ml gin
• 45 ml St-Germain elderflower liqueur
• 15 ml lime juice

Cherry Gimlet

• 60 ml Cherry Gin
• 20 ml lime juice
• 15 ml simple syrup

Cucumber Gimlet

• 60 ml gin
• 20 ml lime juice
• 15 ml simple syrup
• Cucumber, muddled

Basil Gimlet

• 60 ml gin
• 20 ml lime juice
• 15 ml simple syrup
• 6-8 basil leaves, muddled

Vodka Gimlet

• 60 ml vodka
• 20 ml lime juice
• 15 ml simple syrup
• Cucumber, muddled 

How do you make your Gimlets?