A proper Gimlet, sans corn syrup
A Gimlet is a refreshing cocktail with a subtle but distinct flavor profile. It can be quite tasty but is very hard to get right without accepting an awful lot of high fructose corn syrup. I tend to avoid high fructose corn syrup, so I rarely make a proper Gimlet, but I've been experimenting with syrups over the years and think I've struck on a pretty good alternative.
The Classic Gimlet
The starting point for a Gimlet is a simple mix of gin and Rose's Lime Juice. Sadly, Rose's is mostly water, high fructose corn syrup, and a little bit of flavoring. It gives the right taste (tuotologically) but isn't something I feel good about drinking.
Gimlet
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2 oz Gin
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1 oz Rose's Lime Juice
Shake with ice and serve in a Nick and Nora glass.
The Gin Sour
Commonly, one will find recipes calling for fresh lime juice an simple syrup. While a good drink, the flavor profile is quite different from a true Gimlet.
Gin Sour
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2 oz Gin
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3/4 oz Lime Juice
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3/4 oz Simple Syrup
Shake with ice and serve in a Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with a lime slice.
Roll Your Own
From here, the path forward is to start trying to make your own lime syrup. The first recipes that I tried were based on a simple syrup infused with lime zest. This works well enough but the flavor is a bit too subtle and not quite right.
From there, I largely set aside the matter until I came across a recipe trying to resurrect the original Rose's recipe on Reddit. To my taste, the recipe is much to tart, more like a Sour Patch Kid than something I want to use in drinks. That said, the flavor profile was in the right direction.
I played with the ratios, threw a few other tricks at the recipe, and ended up with something that tastes really good to my taste.
Key Lime Syrup
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3/4 cup Water
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2 cups white Sugar
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1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
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1 Tbsp Citric Acid
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12 Key Limes
Procedure:
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Zest the key limes and set the zest aside. Juice the limes and set the juice aside.
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Put the sugar, cream of tartar, and water in a saucepan.
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Bring to a gentle boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
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Remove from heat and add the key lime zest.
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Cover and let steep for 30 minutes.
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Use an ice bath to cool the saucepan / syrup to under 100°F.
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Add the key lime juice and citric acid, stirring to combine.
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Strain through a fine strainer (I use a nut milk bag) and bottle.
The Homemade Gimlet
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2.5 oz Gin
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0.75 oz Key Lime Syrup
Shake with ice and serve in a Coupe or Nick and Nora glass.
Delicious.