Cocktail · Medium strength
Gimlet
Gin and lime cordial — a tart British classic with naval discipline.
How to order it: Fresh lime cordial beats the bottled stuff. Coupe, no garnish theatrics.
Flavor profile
The recipe
- 2 oz London dry gin
- ¾ oz lime cordial (fresh-made)
- Stir or shake with ice
- Strain into a coupe
- Lime wheel
The story
A drink with paperwork. In 1867, Lauchlan Rose patented a method for preserving lime juice without alcohol — Rose's Lime Cordial — the same year Britain's Merchant Shipping Act tightened requirements for citrus aboard ships. Royal Navy officers mixed the cordial with their gin, and the Gimlet was effectively legislated into existence. The name is disputed: the hand tool that bores holes, or Surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette, who supposedly prescribed it. Raymond Chandler canonized it in The Long Goodbye — 'half gin and half Rose's lime juice and nothing else' — a spec modern bartenders politely ignore in favor of fresh lime. It endures because discipline, it turns out, is delicious.
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