Think of the Gimlet as a Martini with a sour streak: a simple pairing of gin and lime, softened with a little sugar.
And just like a Martini, there’s no one Gimlet recipe to suit all tastes. Some prefer lime cordial, others fresh juice. Some like it shaken, others stirred. Some take it on the rocks, others straight up.
However you like it, that clean, simple template leaves plenty of room to switch things up.
These three alternative recipes take the Gimlet in very different directions, from a crisp cucumber-and-elderflower refresher to a savory, porcini-laced nightcap served in miniature.
How 321 Cocktails Works
321 Cocktails offers three meaningful alternatives to the world’s most popular classic cocktails, suited to the beginner, intermediate, and expert at-home bartender.
The Twist: The easiest of the three, the Twist changes the classic recipe with subtle ingredient swaps and simple additions. Easy to do, with tasty results.
The Upgrade: Often calling for custom ingredients that require a touch of preparation, the Upgrade is suited to the ambitious at-home bartender looking to impress guests.
The Maverick: If you’ve been making cocktails at home for a while and are ready to take them to the next level, try the Maverick. These bar-grade variations may have you hunting for niche ingredients in specialist stores, but the results are spectacular.
The Classic Gimlet
Gin and lime, sweetened and served ice cold. Classically, the sweetness and acidity arrive together in a single ingredient – lime cordial – which gives the Gimlet its bright sharpness and a rounder, almost candied lime character that fresh juice alone can’t match.
The result is clean and crisp, with the gin’s botanicals front and center. If you’d rather keep things fresher, swap the cordial for 0.75oz (25ml) fresh lime juice and 0.5oz (15ml) simple syrup, and shake rather than stir.
Ingredients
- 2oz (60ml) London dry gin
- 0.75oz (25ml) lime cordial
- Lime wheel (garnish)
Method
Combine the gin and lime cordial in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until very cold, then strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lime wheel.
The Twist: Cucumber & Elderflower Gimlet
The Gimlet might be the most versatile of the sour-style classics. Its template of white spirit, sugar, and citrus is an open invitation to experiment, working as naturally with umami and herbal flavors as it does with florals and fruit.
This quaffable version calls for two crowd-pleasers with a distinctly British sensibility: cucumber, which brings a crisp freshness that gin’s botanicals crave, and elderflower, whose floral sweetness rounds out lime’s acidity. It’s a simple combination that shows why the Gimlet endures – instantly accessible, yet endlessly adaptable.
Ingredients
- 1.75oz (50ml) gin
- 0.75oz (20ml) Belvoir elderflower cordial
- 0.5oz (15ml) fresh lime juice
- 4 cucumber slices
- Lime coin or elderflower floret (garnish)
Method
Combine the elderflower cordial and cucumber slices in a cocktail shaker and gently muddle – a wooden spoon will suffice – to express the cucumber’s flavor. Add the gin, lime juice, and ice, and shake vigorously to chill and dilute. Double strain through a fine strainer into a chilled coupe to catch any cucumber solids, then garnish with a lime coin, or an elderflower floret if in season.
The Upgrade: GoldenEye Gimlet
There’s a point at which a Gimlet starts to blur into Martini territory, and the GoldenEye Gimlet sits right on it. I created it for private aviation company Wheels Up at Cayman Cookout, inspired by the festival’s hottest ticket: a charter from Grand Cayman to Jamaica’s GoldenEye resort.
It’s a Gimlet to tempt even James Bond. Gin and fino sherry bring dryness and strength, while a layered Caribbean cordial adds a sweet and sour backbone, with notes of coconut, seaweed, and ginger. Serve it on the rocks or up, but always with a cheeky bump of mango caviar.
Ingredients
- 1.75oz (50ml) No.3 London Dry Gin
- 0.75oz (25ml) fino sherry
- 0.75oz (25ml) Caribbean cordial*
- Mango caviar (garnish)
Method
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir to chill and dilute, then strain into a chilled rocks glass over a large, clear cube of ice. Garnish with mango caviar, served as an initial bump or rested atop the ice cube.
Note: Mango caviar can be purchased online from brands such as Perles de Saveurs.
Custom ingredients
Caribbean cordial*
- 34oz (1,000ml) coconut water
- 8 Pukka ginger tea bags
- 8g lime peels
- 6g makrut lime leaves
- 8g kombu seaweed, rehydrated
- Citric acid powder (3%)
- Sugar (50% of yield weight)
Method: Add the coconut water to a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the seaweed, makrut lime leaves, and ginger tea bags, and infuse for 15 minutes. Strain out the solids, then add the citric acid powder and lime peels and blend. Filter through a cheesecloth-lined chinois, weigh the yield, then add half its weight in sugar, reheating the liquid if needed to dissolve it all. Bottle and store in the fridge. Use within two weeks
The Maverick: Umami Gimlet
Not every cocktail needs to be bigger to make an impression. This intensely savory Gimlet, built around an unlikely ingredient in porcini mushroom, is served in my signature tiny format, where its concentrated flavors can shine without overwhelming the palate.
Brown butter-washed mezcal brings richness and nuttiness, balanced by clean vodka, while white port and a porcini cordial add freshness and depth. Porcini carries notes of chocolate, so coffee liqueur rounds it out. The result is sweet, gently tart, and deeply umami – an indulgent amuse-bouche or nightcap.
Ingredients
- 1oz (30ml) brown butter-washed mezcal*
- 1oz (30ml) Absolut Elyx vodka
- 0.75oz (25ml) umami cordial**
- 0.5oz (15ml) Graham’s Blend No.5 white port
- 0.25oz (7.5ml) Tia Maria cold brew coffee liqueur
- Truffle oil and lemon peel (garnish)
Method
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir to chill and dilute, then strain into a chilled tiny coupe. Garnish with a drop of truffle oil, then express a lemon peel over the drink and discard.
Custom ingredients
Brown butter-washed mezcal*
- 24oz (700ml) mezcal
- 60g salted butter
Method: Add the salted butter to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the butter begins to brown. Once the aroma becomes nutty and dessert-like, remove from the heat and pour the butter into a Ziploc or vacuum bag. Pour over the mezcal, seal the bag, then gently agitate to mix the fat and alcohol. Leave at ambient temperature for four hours to infuse, then put the bag in the freezer overnight to allow the butter to solidify. Filter through a coffee filter-lined funnel into a bottle, then refrigerate. Store for up to one month.
Umami cordial**
- 30g dried porcini mushrooms
- 7g fresh thyme sprigs, washed
- 1g sea salt
- 17oz (500ml) boiling water
- Sugar (50% of stock weight)
- Citric acid powder (3% of stock weight)
Method: In a heatproof bowl, measuring cup, or saucepan, combine the dried mushrooms, thyme, and salt. Pour in the boiling water, cover to keep the heat in, and set aside to infuse for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined fine strainer, gently squeezing the solids to maximize the yield. Weigh the stock, then add half its weight in sugar and 3% of its weight in citric acid powder. Stir to dissolve, briefly heating the mixture in a microwave if required. Bottle and store in the fridge for up to one month.
