The topic for September’s MixMo is very cheerful – lime. Thanks Doug who chose this theme and hosted current event at his The Pegu Blog.

Recently I took my time to read carefully Sonja Kassebaum’s article about homemade lime cordial. I wanted to make a couple glasses of  Gimlets and to compare how cordial and fresh lime juice work there.

So then I knew the theme for new MixMo, my Gimlets were ready to be tasted. What a coincidence!

It was very simple to make my own lime cordial. Just a hour at a kitchen and a day to let cordial get matured. The cordial’s flavour was surprisingly fresh and natural.

Gimlet is an old cocktail, and its proportions can vary. But the common opinion is that there must be two parts of gin for one part of cordial  or sweetened juice.

As of serving the cocktail, I prefer it on the rocks but shaken straight up version was in my mind too. I just corrected proportions for my Gimlet on the rocks to make it stronger and sharper.

Here my straight up Gimlet.

Gimlet (straight up)

The nose was incredibly fresh and sharp. The taste started with smooth sour and sweet lime on the powerful juniper background. A moment later gin aroma moved forward, and its delicate dryness combined with lime sourness very well. Cordial sweet and sour aftertaste with a hint of angelica and juniper finished this beautiful sip.

My second Gimlet was on the rocks with Hendrick’s gin.

Gimlet (on the rocks)

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For me, Hendrick’s gin is much better in simple cocktails than Beefeater. Here I increase  gin proportion a bit to underscore Hendrick’s fine aroma.

Amazing!  In this version I have sharper and more distinct taste. Very tart lime zest, sweetened fresh lime juice, rich gin aroma. Combined with lime, Hendick’s has lost its subtle rose aftertaste but surprisingly revealed delightful hint of cucumber in the end. Really, juniper and cucumber are unusual but great pair, and lime is a decent addition to it.

Usually I prefer straight up cocktails but  here I definitely go for version “on the rocks”. Great drink!