Why Your Gimlet Ought to Be Served on the Rocks

As a Martini agnostic, I’ve all the time been jealous of the specificity with which followers of the basic gin drink get to order: soiled, filthy, dry, twist, olive, gin, vodka, and so forth. However as somebody who prefers candy and bitter flavors, I met my good match on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, at Lengthy Island Bar. 

Enter: the Gimlet on the rocks. 

The Gimlet is the proper cocktail. It is tart, candy, refreshing, quenching, and provides a boozier kick than, say, a spritz. Whereas the vast majority of Gimlets are made with gin, easy syrup, and recent lime juice, many dive bars nonetheless combine it up the normal method utilizing sweet-and-sticky Rose’s Lime Cordial. There’s actually a time and place for Rose’s, however the tart punch of freshly squeezed lime juice is what introduced the cocktail again to the mainstream for a brand new era of drinkers.

At Lengthy Island Bar, bartender Toby Cecchini nods to Rose’s historical past by crafting a housemade lime-ginger cordial. It provides only a contact of warming ginger with loads of citrus taste from a mix of ginger juice and an oleo saccharum created from lime peels and sugar. Cecchini’s Gimlet is scrumptious, however what actually units it aside is that it’s served in a rocks glass, over ice. 

Gimlets are historically served up, or shaken with ice then strained right into a cocktail glass. Whereas the drink seems nice in fancy stemware, it’s not the best choice for the cocktail. What’s, is a brief rocks glass full of ice. 

I’ve ordered dozens of Gimlets on the rocks, and the interpretation is all the time totally different, even all through New York Metropolis. Some serve the drink in a tall Collins glass with a straw, others in my most well-liked basic rocks glass. My favourite presentation was on the lauded TriBeCa restaurant, The Odeon, the place it was served in a neat glass, or a brief glass someplace in between a shot glass and a rocks glass, with two or three ice cubes.

A Gimlet served on the rocks isn’t just fussy for fussiness sake. It’s good for a number of causes. Ice ensures the lime juice stays tart, chilled, and refreshing, fairly than rising tepid over time, significantly in the summertime. Rocks glasses are additionally much less vulnerable to spillage when navigating by a crowded bar. Ice additionally helps to elongate the drink, making it last more — a lot wanted when a cocktail can price $20+ in NYC. 

Nevertheless, purists could disagree. Can a Gimlet served on the rocks nonetheless be referred to as a Gimlet? “The origins of the Gimlet go to date again that the right approach to make this drink has been debated over time,” says Simon Ford, founding father of Fords Gin. “They’re each a Gimlet, and for this drink, the glass may range considerably and it’d nonetheless be a Gimlet.”

Others disagree. Stanislav Harcinik, of Mirror Bar in Bratislava, Slovakia, thinks a basic cocktail shouldn’t stray from the unique recipe — and this contains the glassware. He describes my most well-liked drink as a one made within the fashion of a Gimlet. 

“If we wish to signify a basic cocktail with its unique identify, we should always all the time follow the unique and identified recipe as a lot as doable,” says Harcinik. “I usually discover that company order one thing they know or they’ve a keenness for a selected basic.”

Ford likens the Gimlet to a Margarita, during which the drink will be faithfully served interchangeably between a rocks glass, a Martini glass, or perhaps a pint glass full of ice. The service of the drink is tailor-made to the bar, restaurant, or buyer, however there’s little question that the drink continues to be a Margarita. 

I like my Gimlet on the rocks, and gained’t hear in any other case. Serve it in a brief glass with only a few ice cubes, make it further chilly so it doesn’t dilute too rapidly, use good gin, and sip typically.