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If you a fan of a Gimlet, this cocktail might be for you. Lime juice and Angostura Bitters added to a nice dry gin make this a refreshing change from Gin Sours.
The Bennett
2 oz Gin (I used Dry Line from South Hollow Distillers)
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup (I used Agave)
2 dashes Angostura
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into a coupe. (Optional garnish suggestion: dried lime wheel).
I like sour, citrusy cocktails and gin is nearly always the go-to base for me, the more juniper the better. So I finally acquired a bottle of Pimm’s No. 1 , andI was pretty excited to give it a try. What could be better than a gin-based cocktail with a gin-based spirit to help things along?
My only alteration would be to reduce the amount of lime juice, which, in my personal opinion, seemed to overpower the cocktail as made. We both thought that increading the Pimms to 1 1/2 oz and the gin to about the same while reducing the lime juice to 1/2 ounce was more to our liking. But you should absolutely try the recipe from Pimms for yourself and then, if you want to tweak it, go ahead and adjust.
The original cocktail, posted on Pimm’s website uses metric measurements. Now a purist could use a strict conversion, but my strategy was to use equal ratios, subbing 1 oz for the 25 ml measure.
25ml PIMM’S No.1 (see headnote, we liked increasing this to 1.5 oz)
25ml Gordon’s Gin (I used Beefeater - a good London dry is perfect. Again 1.5 oz)
25ml fresh lime juice (see headnote. I’d reduce this down to about .5 oz)
Dash of sugar syrup (we regularly use agave - easier to mix)
Cucumber and mint to garnish
Put everything in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake for about 25-30 seconds til icy cold. Serve up with cucumber & mint.
Be Your Own Bartender by Carey Jones and John McCarthy is a lot like following a flowchart. Start with a base spirit (gin, whiskey, vodka), and from that starting point, one can build lots of variations on a theme. Tonight’s cocktail, the Basil Gimlet, is a play on fresh basil which is plentiful at this time of year; however, one could also make the same cocktail with mint or rosemary and achieve different results.
Basil Gimlet
Ingredients (1 drink)
2 ounces gin (suggestion was Beefeater I used Tanguery)
1 ounce FRESH lime juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup (I like things that are less sweet, so I reduced this to 1/2 ounce)
1 dash orange bitters
5 basil leaves torn in half as they are added to the shaker, plus 1 additional leaf for garnish
Method
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a basil leaf, lightly clapped between your hands before being added to the drink.