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. Avomit 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!
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
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!
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