Recipe Description
One of the best drinks you can make is also one of the simplest: a fresh gin gimlet using lime juice, a little simple syrup and one of the many complex and delicious dry gins available today.
Ingredients
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5 ounces dry gin
My favorite gin for a fresh gimlet is Monkey 47, but I also love to use North Shore Distiller's Gin No. 11 or my new stand-bys, Hendrick's or Plymouth. There are so many fantastic gins out there these days--try your favorite! -
2.5 ounces fresh lime juice
That's what makes a gimlet a gimlet! (You can make it with lemon juice instead, but then it's called a Tom & Jerry, which is basically a Tom Collins sans the ice and bubbles.) -
1.5 ounces simple syrup
Half granulated white sugar, half water cooked until dissolved and clear. This can be done in the microwave or on the stove. Let cool. Store unused portion in the refrigerator.
Preparation
Put in the freezer two Nick and Nora, coupé or martini glasses.
In the smaller side of a Boston shaker if you have one (they are the best shakers–they separate easily and don’t leak), combine all ingredients and fill with ice. Put the larger side of the shaker on top and give it a tap to seal. (You pour into the smaller side because if you use the larger side and you overfill it, when you put the smaller one on top it might hit the liquid and fail to seal–that can’t happen if you fill the smaller one and put the larger one on top. Oh, and get one that is all metal–if one of the sides is glass, that tap might just turn into a disaster!)
Shake until cold. Strain into chilled glasses and serve.
Service
Serve the gimlet in small cold glasses so it drinks cold right down to the bottom. If you are the only one drinking a gimlet right now, strain the second serving into the big side of the Boston shaker, put the other side on top and put it in the freezer alongside the second glass–the mixture will keep long enough for you to drink the first one and pour yourself the second.
No garnish on this one–it’s too perfect as it is!
Update: I have recently gone old-school on them gimlet, no joke. Thanks to the best classic cocktail blog out there, www.cold-glass.com, I now have the perfect recipe for a classic gimlet (which Blogger Ford calls “The Libertarian’s Delight!“) It’s great, it scratches my martini itch without shocking the system & it requires no fresh ingredients in the fridge! You can find the recipe at cold-glass but really, it’s just 2 ounces very high quality gin, 1/2 ounce Rose’s Lime Juice (ikr!) & a barspoon of simple syrup. Served VERY COLD (stirred, not shaken!!) and in a cold glass, of course!
