Gimlet (cocktail)
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| Gimlet | |
| Type: | Cocktail |
|---|---|
| Primary alcohol by volume: | |
| Served: | straight or on the rocks |
| Standard garnish: | Lime |
| Commonly used ingredients: | |
| Preparation: | Mix and serve. Garnish with a slice of lime |
The gimlet is a cocktail typically made of gin or vodka and lime juice (such as Rose's)
A 1928 description of the drink was: "gin, a spot of lime, and soda" (D. B. Wesson, I'll never be Cured III). A 1953 description was: "a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's Lime Juice and nothing else" (Terry Lennox in Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye).
The Savoy Cocktail Book (1999 edition, first published in 1930) contains the following recipe:
- 1/2 Burrough's Plymouth Gin
- 1/2 Rose's Lime Juice Cordial
- Stir, and serve in the same glass. Can be iced if desired.
The Savoy Cocktail Book also has a recipe for the "Gimblet Cocktail":
- 1/4 Lime Juice
- 3/4 Dry Gin
- Shake well and strain into medium size glass; fill up with soda water
According to the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition of August 4, 2006, a gimlet consists of the following:
- 2 oz. gin or Vodka
- 1/4 to 1/2 oz. simple syrup
- 1/2 oz. lime juice
- Garnish with a lime
The Bartender's Bible by Gary Regan lists the recipe as:
- 2 oz. gin
- 1/2 ounce Rose's lime juice
- Garnish with lime wedge
Regan also states, "... since the Rose's product has such a long and impressive history (which predates the gimlet), I am inclined to think that Rose's was the ingredient that invented the drink".
The New New York Bartender's Guide by Sally Ann Berk lists the ratio of gin to Rose's lime juice as 3:1 instead of 4:1 as in the above recipes.
For the vodka gimlet, replace gin with vodka. As of the 1990s, maybe earlier, bartenders often answer requests for the gimlet with a vodka gimlet. Vodka gimlets were popularized by renowned proposition gambler and raconteur "Hong Kong" Freddie Wong, whose spirit of choice is quadruple-distilled Belvedere. As the gimlet was director Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s favorite cocktail, he often used the pseudonyms "Telmig Akdov" or "Akdov Telmig" (Vodka Gimlet spelled backwards) for his adult novels.[1]
The following vodka gimlet recipe is from the novels of Stuart Woods: "Pour six ounces of vodka from a 750 ml bottle; replace with six ounces Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice (available from nearly any grocery), add a small amount of water for ice crystals, shake twice and store in the freezer overnight. Pour into a martini glass and serve straight up. The glass will immediately frost over. With this recipe, no cocktail shaker is required and the cocktail is not watered down by melting ice. You may use even the cheapest vodka, and no one will ever know."
Contents |
[edit] References in popular culture
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Jack Nicholson's character in the 2002 movie About Schmidt orders a vodka gimlet during his retirement party.
- Philip Marlowe and Terry Lennox drink half and half gimlets in Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye.
- David Fisher (Michael C. Hall) orders a vodka gimlet in Episode 407 ("The Dare", season 4) of the TV series Six Feet Under, saying "It's what my father ordered when he wanted something strong."
- In the Ernest Hemingway short story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber", Wilson and Mr. and Mrs. Macomber are sitting around after the lion incident and order gimlets.
- Philip Mercer, the main character of Jack Du Brul's novels, drinks vodka gimlets.
- Helen Parker, a character in the game Hotel Dusk, orders a gimlet at the hotel bar, reminding the bartender that a real gimlet only contains gin and lime juice.
- Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop) declares, "Richard! I need a gimlet!", after hanging up with daughter, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), when trying to fill up her table for the Rare Manuscript Acquisition Fund on the television show Gilmore Girls (season 4, episode 13, "Nag Hammadi Is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels").
- Helen Mirren was drinking a vodka gimlet during the 79th Academy Awards when filmed backstage in front of the "Thank You Cam". This was described by her as a "very British drink".
- In Jeph Jacques' web-comic Questionable Content #948, "/B/Reptoids", Dora tells her boyfriend Marten to pick her up some gin and lime juice, as she is "feelin' the gimlet action tonight."
- Referenced in Season 1, Episode 2 of the TV series Mad Men.
- Vodka gimlets are the cocktail of choice for the protagonists Holly Barker and Stone Barrington in the series of books by Stuart Woods.
- In the novel Summer of the Vigilantes by Christopher Poole, the character Peg orders a vodka gimlet in a bar.
- In the play Glengarry Glen Ross, James Lingk is drinking a gimlet in the first act.
[edit] See also
