Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Squid Mixes: Gimlet

The gimlet is our first summery cocktail of the season.  My recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide indicates 6 parts gin, 2 parts Rose's lime juice.  A sweeter ratio is featured in the Raymond Chandler novel, The Long Goodbye:  "a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's lime juice and nothing else".

As with many classic drinks, both the gimlet and Rose's lime juice have nautical pasts.  In the eighteenth-century, the British navy was eager to find ways to fend off scurvy and citrus was the answer.  Captain James Cook provided his crewmen with a daily ration of lemon or lime juice, both of which combined very nicely with their daily gin ration.  The alcohol preserved the juice and the juice improved the flavor.  This is also, of course, how British sailors came to be known as "limeys".  In 1867, Lauchlan Rose patented a method of preserving lime juice with sugar rather than alcohol.  Not coincidentally, he opened his first factory for the product right by the docks in Leith, Scotland.

8 comments:

  1. I'll have to look into trying one of those.

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  2. I knew most of the but not the sugar factory part.
    I was confused at first I mixed up Gimlet with Gibson which I like.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I don’t think I have ever had a Gibson, actually. I am sure we’ll get to it after martinis.

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  3. Wow, I like the sound of the sweeter version of this drink. I've had so much wine and port tasting on my recent trip that I no longer remember what I liked best!

    *Sangria - Spanish- was probably one which stands out.
    *Ginja - Portugese and sweet.

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    1. Sounds like a fantastic trip!

      My wife has a great wine app on her phone: Delectable. It’s great for keeping track of everything.

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  4. Gin is so popular here these days, micro distilleries are popping up everywhere - it's like the 1700s! Sailors prefer rum of course. I grow limes and make syrups and somehow have't made a lime syrup yet so I must amend that. Lime and gin sounds so refreshing - but it's currently breakfast time so I'll get a cold coffee instead.

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    1. Just got back from the uk, actually and my wife expressed a regret of not trying more gin while we were there. I’m not sure what exactly she felt was stopping her...

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