7 Gimlet Twists to Try Right Now

The classic Gimlet is one of the simplest cocktails to make. Its original form consisted of equal parts gin and lime cordial—traditionally, Rose’s lime cordial. But since the contemporary craft cocktail movement began to champion fresh ingredients rather than store-bought bottles, many bartenders now make their Gimlets with gin, freshly squeezed lime juice and simple syrup, ditching the Rose’s.

While the Gimlet’s popularity began to blossom in the 1980s due to vodka’s rise to prominence (at which point vodka took over as the preferred spirit in most cocktails, the Gimlet no exception), it has been around since the mid-1800s. The cocktail’s origins can be traced back to the British Royal Navy, which is credited with multiple classics, although the navy’s creation of mixed drinks was a matter of necessity rather than recreation, as citrus was used to mitigate scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. 

By 1867, the Merchant Shipping Act made it mandatory for all ships to stock lime juice onboard to prevent the disease. Initially, the juice was fortified with rum to increase its shelf life, but a shipyard owner by the name of Lauchlin Rose patented a more stable recipe that preserved the lime juice with sugar rather than alcohol, and Rose’s lime cordial was born. 

The Gimlet first appeared in print in 1923 in legendary bartender Harry MacElhone’s “Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails,” where the recipe calls for a mix of half Plymouth gin and half Rose’s lime juice cordial, stirred with or without ice.

Contemporary bartenders have developed many variations of this simple gin drink over the last few decades. These are seven recipes for the classic Gimlet and variations that go far beyond the most simple iteration.