The gimlet (/ˈɡɪmlət/) is a cocktail made of gin and lime cordial. A 1928 description of the drink was: gin, and a spot of lime.[1] A description in the 1953 Raymond Chandler novel The Long Goodbye stated that "a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's lime juice and nothing else."[2] This is in line with the proportions suggested by The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), which specifies one half gin and one half lime juice.[3] However, some modern tastes are less sweet, and generally provide for up to four parts gin to one part lime cordial.[4]
Etymology
The word "gimlet" used in this sense is first attested in 1928. The most obvious derivation is from the tool for drilling small holes, a word also used figuratively to describe something as sharp or piercing. Thus, the cocktail may have been named for its "penetrating" effects on the drinker.[5]
Another theory is that the drink was named after the Royal Navy surgeon Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette (27 November 1857[6] – 4 October 1943[7]), who allegedly introduced this drink as a means of inducing his messmates to take lime juice as an anti-scurvy medication.[8] However, this association is not mentioned in his obituary notice in the BMJ,[9]The Times (6 October 1943), or his entry in Who Was Who 1941–1950.
Variations
A variant of the cocktail, the vodka gimlet, replaces gin with vodka. The Schumann's Gimlet adds lemon juice and lime juice to the Gin.[10] The Bennett adds bitters.[11] The Pimmlet substitutes 2 parts Pimm's No. 1 Cup to 1 part London Dry Gin.[citation needed] Notably, the screwdriver (cocktail), another cocktail made from a clear spirit and a citrus juice, is also named after a common handtool.
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