This this month we have a variation on a timeless classic, the Gimlet. A Gimlet is a typical sour, combining a base spirit, gin, with a sweet ingredient, simple syrup, and a sour ingredient, lime juice.
The French Gimlet uses St. Germaine elderflower liqueur as the sweetener instead of simple syrup. And the substitution totally changes things – floral, a bit sweeter, and much rounder than a traditional Gimlet. Absolutely perfect for spring drinking – as we finally move into warmish evenings and maybe having a sip outdoors.
As a cool bonus, we are making ours this evening with Empress 1908, a lovely gin, which has the interesting distinction of being purple. You can make a French Gimlet with any London dry style gin and it will taste great. But with Empress you get a wonderful color that evokes fin de siècle Paris. Think Moulin Rouge, Toulouse Lautrec, Sarah Bernhardt, languid afternoons, romance, intrigue, spies, assignations, bowler hats …
Sip a few of these, put a flower in your lapel, and take a stroll down the Champs-Élysées – if only in your mind.
French Gimlet
2 oz gin – Use Empress 1908 if you want a lavender cocktail.
1.5 oz St. Germaine
.75 oz lime juice
Stir (or shake if you must) with ice until very cold and serve straight up.