However you like your gimlet, it kicks a hell of a punch. "Gimlet Goes Again" was a book by WE Johns that was published in the late 1940s. The character in it was named Gimlet and was a man that had to be tough and hit back hard at the enemy. Where did WE Johns get the name from? I can't help thinking that he'd had one too many gimlets and when they hit back at him he thought, "aha gimlet can be his name!"

The Gimlet has been around since at least the late 1920s. It is basically made with gin and lime juice. A description by D B Wesson in 1928 was "gin, a spot of lime and soda." Raymond Chandler in The Long Goodbye'(1953) had Phillip Marlowe saying "a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's lime juice and nothing else." The classic recipe, however is as follows:

Gimlet

4 parts gin
1 part lime juice

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into an old fashioned glass to serve.

The late 80s, early 90s saw the introduction of the Vodka Gimlet.

Vodka Gimlet

6 parts vodka
2 parts lime juic

Pour into an old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes and stir, serve with a lime wedge as a garnish.

2001 introduced the Richmond Gimlet by mixologist extrodinaire Jeffrey Morgenthaler.

Richmond Gimlet

4 parts Tanqueray No. 10 gin
2 parts fresh lime juice
2 parts simple syrup
large sprig of mint.

Place all the ingredients plus ice into a cocktail shaker and shake, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Lynam Hennessy, a Boston bartender invented the lemon-thyme gimlet in 2007.

Lemon-thyme Gimlet

6 parts Gale Force gin
2 parts lemon juice
2 parts thyme simple syrup

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake, serve on the rocks.

Gwen Kaiser, Cocktail Times, introduced the attractive looking Rose Gimlet, which might make a nice drink for Valentines Day, an engagement or wedding.

Rose Gimlet

2 parts rose hip infused gin
2 parts simple syrup
2 parts fresh lime juice
1 part rose water

Mix all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass, garnish with rose petals.

However you like your gimlets keep your painkillers next to your bed as you'll need them in the morning.

Learn more about this author, Louanne Cox.
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