Gimlet
Gin and lime, Navy
Gin and lime cordial shaken until ice-cold. Dangerously drinkable — lime sweetness masks the proof until it's too late.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Gin
- 3/4 oz Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
Method
Stir gin, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup with ice for 10 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with lime wheel.
The gimlet is a classic British naval gin-and-lime-cordial cocktail first documented in Harry MacElhone's *Harry of Ciro's ABC of Mixing Cocktails* (1922, with a 1923 second impression) as a remedy against scurvy. The drink features in Raymond Chandler's *The Long Goodbye* (1953 UK publication). The name likely derives from either the gimlet drilling tool or Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette (1857–1943), a Royal Navy surgeon, though this attribution lacks historical substantiation. The gimlet was included on the 1987 IBA official cocktails list but removed by the 1993 revision.