Speakeasy: How to Order a Gimlet Like a Grownup

Welcome back to Speakeasy, where we take a deep dive into a classic drink and give you the history and origins of a drink, the spirits involved, and how to ask for a drink like a pro. Last time we took a sip of the bitter negroni, today, we’re all about the light and tangy gimlet.

The History of the Gimlet

Where did the gimlet come from? You can thank scurvy for this one…

To understand the origins of the gimlet we have to go back in time and take a little trip to the 17^th century England. At this time the Royal Navy was taking the seas and ships packed with men were heading out for long voyages, subsisting on salted, dried foods and beer. They soon got scurvy.

These days no one ever gets scurvy but back then, it was a huge problem. The disease, which is caused by a lack of vitamin C, took out 3 million men between the 15^th and 18^th century and ships sometimes lost 70 percent of their crew to the disease.

In the late 1700s, doctors and captains in the Royal Navy figured out they could fight scurvy with lemon juice and by 1795, lemon juice and spirits became part of every ship’s rations. This is where things get tricky: because of wily machinations to influence trade and some confusing shipping acts, lemon juice became lime juice and it was somehow mandated that it be mixed with a spirit.

Some also say that in the late 1800s and early 1900s a Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette, when acting as a doctor to the sailors, mixed gin and lime together (to make the lime juice more palatable) and that’s how the drink got its name. [pagebreak]

What’s in a gimlet?

It’s pretty simple: the gimlet is a mix of gin, lime juice (Rose’s Lime Cordial if you want to be exact), and ice, stirred, and strained into a chilled Martini glass.

Now somewhere in the middle of the gimlet’s history, a man named Lachlan Rose figured out how to preserve lime juice and his cute little bottles became all the age in a temperate-England. Rose’s Lime Cordial eventually got mixed up with the members of the Royal Navy and that became the go-to mixer.

These days you’ll notice a few differences. First, you won’t see a lot of mixologists reaching for a bottle of bright green preserved lime juice. Instead you’re likely to get fresh squeezed juice and not a lot of it. And the world of gin has evolved to include high quality, aromatic, herbaceous, floral gins. So unless you prefer a specific type, ask your mixologist for their favorite. And lastly, they’ll probably throw in some simple syrup to sweeten up the deal. [pagebreak]

What does a gimlet taste like and how should I order it?

Gimlets aren’t for wimps. With only two (max three) ingredients, you’re getting a lot of gin. (Think martini.) So if you’ve never had one before it might be best to go with a sweetened version to acquire a taste.

Since they’re so simple, there’s not much to know about ordering except for gin. As we mentioned, unless you prefer a specific brand, ask your bartender. They’ll be sure to point you in the right direction.