One theory behind the origin of the Gimlet is that the drink was named after British Royal Navy Surgeon Sir Thomas Gimlette (1857-1943), who introduced it as a way of making his sailors take lime juice as an anti-scurvy medication. True or not… We don’t know, but sounds like an interesting story.

For our Gimlet we grabbed Grandma B’s 80-year-old etched coupe glasses from the cabinet and squeezed some fresh lime juice. We always make our own simple syrup, which is just a 1 to 1 mix of sugar dissolved in water by boiling it (give it plenty of time to cool before using it). We chose not to double strain the Gimlet from the cocktail shaker, as we are huge fans of limes and liked the added texture. The juniper of the dry gin is slightly lessened by the fresh lime and it is a very refreshing drink.

ABOUT THE SPIRIT

We used Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin which was first introduced in 1987. The name originates from the popularity of gin during the British Raj – the period of British rule in India between 1858 and 1947 (Bombay is now actually called Mumbai). Sapphire refers to the violet-blue Star of Bombay which is on display at the Smithsonian Institution. The elegant looking bottle is tinted blue. The gin itself is clear.

Anyway, history lesson aside – this one is a keeper.

Cheers…