This is one of those drinks that a lot of people make with vodka. I guess if you’re looking to let the preserved lime juice take the stage all by itself, then that’s a way to go, but I find that gin adds a lot more interest to the cocktail.
Raymond Chandler once famously said in his detective novel The Long Goodbye, that “a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s lime juice and nothing else” … Hmm. While I think Chandler’s got plenty of good advice to give on writing noir fiction, I don’t adhere to his standards for cocktails. Going half and half on the spirit and the rose’s lime produces a sickly-sweet, syrupy mess. I believe the recipe below creates a much livelier drink while still letting that unique preserved lime flavor come through.
This is a drink for citrus lovers. If you don’t occasionally enjoy a big, mouth-puckering whomp of acidity, then this is not going to work for you at all even in my dryer, modified form. It’s a sipping drink, meant to be slowly savored.
This article is a modified and enhanced version of a post that ran on my nightly cocktail blog, DrinkShouts. Liquors in parentheses are what I used when I made this recipe, and are included as suggestions.
The Gimlet Cocktail Recipe
Equipment
- Bar spoon
- Cocktail Strainer
Ingredients
- 2.5 oz. London dry gin Ford’s
- .5 oz. Rose’s Sweetened Lime Juice Cordial
- .5 oz. Fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a pint glass over ice and stir thoroughly.
- Strain into a chilled, ice-filled rocks glass. No garnish.