GIMLET

Spirituous, lime, juniper

Heavy lime and juniper are wonderful with lox and cucumber. Gimlets also have an affinity for very spicy South American and Asian food.

It’s possible this cocktail is named for a British Naval surgeon, Gimlette, who gave his sailors citrus to prevent scurvy. The drink first appears in 1928, but is associated with hard-boiled types like Raymond Chandler, who liked his Gimlet half lime, half gin—a ratio we follow. It’s one of the very few drinks in which it’s considered okay to employ Rose’s lime juice—but we find the stuff unpalatable, and have developed a lime cordial that achieves both the familiar sweetness and acidity. This is a versatile drink to garnish. We’ve used lime wheels, a cucumber spear, and even a sprig of rosemary.

    2 ounces (60 ml) London Dry gin (Beefeater)

    2 ounces (60 ml) lime cordial (see recipe page 245)

    3 to 4 thin lime wheels or cucumber spear, for garnish

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. To garnish, drop the lime wheels into the glass, or add a single spear of cucumber.

 

LITERARY COCKTAILS


 

The connection between literature and booze is strong, marked in popular myth by hard-drinking loners who wrestle with their demons while typing. Many famous American authors were inveterate daily drinkers, and some—like Sherwood Anderson, who died when he swallowed a toothpick from his martini—met tragic, alcohol-related ends. Others kept liquor as a constant, fortifying companion—like Carson McCullers, who faced life’s struggles with daily rations of sherry and hot tea from a thermos. Here, we pair famous writers with their tipple of choice.

 

Mark Twain: Mark Twain Cocktail (page 36)

Raymond Chandler: Gimlet (page 113)

Edna St. Vincent Millay: Between the Sheets (page 95)

John Steinbeck: Jack Rose (page 84)

Dorothy Parker: Whiskey Sour (page 29)

William Faulkner: Mint Julep (page 171)

F. Scott Fitzgerald: Gin Rickey (page 161)

Eugene O’Neill: Gibson (page 102)

Tennessee Williams: Ramos Gin Fizz (page 42)