I am by no means a bar connoisseur, but I have been drinking vodka gimlets almost exclusively for a few years. OK, OK, maybe eight glasses of water a day and a few vodka gimlets to finish me off. OK, OK, just kidding. Maybe. Gimlets contain only two ingredients, really: vodka and sweetened lime juice. Most bars carry the bottled Rose's Lime Juice -- the lime alternative to Grenadine -- for this sort of thing. However, gimlets made with homemade (bar-made) lime juice blow the bottled stuff away. They are less tart, more sweet and just great for sucking down.
Homemade Sweetened Lime Juice
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
Make a simple syrup by combining water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves and syrup begins to thicken slightly. Cool.
Mix syrup with lime juice and chill until cold.
Keeps for one week, covered, in the refrigerator.
or try
Homemade Sweet-and-Sour Mix
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Make a simple syrup by combining water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves and syrup begins to thicken slightly. Cool.
Mix syrup with lime and lemon juices and chill until cold.
Keeps for one week, covered, in the refrigerator.
More tips:
The simple syrup can be made without boiling by dissolving the sugar in lukewarm water and shaking very well. The viscosity may be affected, yielding a thinner syrup that's probably just more of a sweet water. Same dealio.
For my dieting-while-drinking sisterhood here in L.A., substitute Splenda for the sugar in these recipes and play with liquid amounts to achieve a good sour-sweet balance.
24 Years Old
5 comments:
Actually, I prefer Rose's. There's an undefinable "something" that is very different from (and preferable to, in my opinion) the homemade version. I think what I may be detecting is lime oil.
I second that~ I used this recipe tonight since I forgot to get some Roses. It's not better.....
I found this recipe profound in its simplicity and design thus making it open for subtle changes. I tried this recipe once and found the cloudy nature of this homemade sweetened lime juice recipe to be a bit off putting but the taste completely dissolved any misgivings I first thought.
A good way to clarify the sweetened juice is to sieve the extracted fresh(!) lime juice through a mesh such as cheesecloth, muslim, or a fine stainless-steel strainer once or twice.
A proper gimlet is made with gin, not vodka :)
Nothing beats a tequila gimlet - the Margarita without the Kool Aid!
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