Gimlet

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Cocktail Coup

Created

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026

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Gimlet

This is a way to have a cocktail literally without any knowledge of bartending of mixology because it is simply 2 ingredients, 3 if you include the ice.

The Gimlet was probably derived from the word gin in the UK but once it made its way overseas to the USA it was pronounced Gimlet. It gained a lot of popularity in the midcentury because it’s very simple and easy to prepare, and was usually prepared with lime cordial, which today we refer to as Rose’s Lime juice. Back then it was made with real sugar and concentrated limes, unlike the food coloring and corn syrup today. A tablespoon of lime cordial or Rose’s Lime Juice (if you must) and 2 ounces of gin or vodka (which was more popular after the 1950s). In one of the episodes of Mad Men, Don Draper’s wife orders one of these in a restaurant and it is served in a short glass with ice.

I remember going to the Opera in NYC with an older friend (Mr. Krasney) and he would always start off the evening at the Symphony or Opera with a Gimlet mixed in his living room. People must have thought he was my grandfather at the time, but he had season tickets and hated to waste them, so he invited me along on occasion. I am thankful not only for his friendship, but the fact that I got to see Pavarotti live (Louisa Miller, I believe). To say he was a great singer is an understatement once you have heard him live in concert.

Enjoy!