three gimlets

[by john]

the gimlet is one of those perfect summer drinks - crisp, simple, and cold. it was the first thing resembling a cocktail that i ever mixed, in fact, three summers ago:

the adolescent gimlet

build in a rocks glass over ice:

1 large eyeball pour of vodka

1 smaller eyeball pour of rose's sweetened lime juice

rattle the glass around to mix.

ah, how far i've come. i've eschewed vodka (though a vodka gimlet is a bona-fide variant...for when too much taste gets in the way), i've started measuring ingredients for replicability, i've gotten a proper shaker, and, goodness, i've abandoned high fructose corn syrup products like rose's. now, to be a little fair, there are cocktail snobs who insist that rose's is required to make a 'real' gimlet. i'm not one of them.

a real gimlet should be something close to this:

the gimlet

1 1/2 oz gin

1 oz lime juice

1/4 oz simple syrup (can go more, to taste)

shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

now that is a proper drink. enjoy on the porch just before sunset, when the humidity is still hanging in the air. or just about any other time, really.

there is always room for improvement, though (nevermind a statewide dehumidifier):

the adult gimlet

1 1/2 oz gin (this version used berkshire's ethereal gin)

1 oz lime juice

2 barspoons thai basil simple syrup

1 barspoon absinthe

1 barspoon green chartreuse

shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

mmm, all my favorite (liquid) green things together in one glass. the different herbal flavors dance in the background while the gin, lime, and sugar play their familiar tune.

to progress, kanpai!