Aviation
45 ml Gin, 15 ml Maraschino liqueur, 15 ml Lemon juice, 7.5 ml Crème de violette, 1 Maraschino cherry
Photo: A Gimlet cocktail (Isla Holbox) by Bruno Rijsman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · All credits
Ingredients
- 60 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) of a standard jigger, plus two teaspoons. Gin
- 20 ml Spoons A tablespoon and a teaspoon. Lime juice
- 15 ml Spoons A tablespoon. Simple syrup - Leave it out if you use Rose's lime cordial instead of fresh juice
- 1 wedge Lime wedge (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Stir or shake gin, lime and syrup, then strain into a chilled glass.
Method
- Add the gin, lime juice and syrup to a shaker or a mixing glass.
- Shake it if you like a cloudy, lively drink; stir it for 25 seconds if you prefer it clear and silky.
- Strain into a chilled coupe, or over ice in a rocks glass.
- Add a lime wedge and mean it.
Serve it
Gimlet
The Royal Navy's answer to scurvy was lime juice, and a sailor's answer to lime juice was gin. Officers got the good stuff and the two met in a glass, which is how a medicine turned into a drink. The name is either a drill bit or a naval surgeon called Gimlette, depending on who is telling the story, and nobody is likely to settle it now.
Getting it right
This is a ratio, not a recipe, so it is worth making one and adjusting it to your own lime: freshly squeezed juice varies enormously. Traditionalists use lime cordial, which is much sweeter and much more forgiving; if you go that way, skip the syrup and use 25ml of cordial. Stirred is the genteel option, shaken is the one that gets the drink ready faster.
Tasting notes
Sharp, clean and bracing, with the gin coming through the lime rather than hiding behind it. Made properly it is the most refreshing strong drink in the cabin - made carelessly it is a mouthful of pine disinfectant, so taste as you go.
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50 ml Gin, 25 ml Lemon juice, 12.5 ml Simple syrup, 15 ml Crème de mûre, 2 berries Blackberry