Gimlet is a simple two ingredient cocktail that can be really good when using a nice gin and quality lime cordial. But I’ll show you a clarified cordial with roses and smoke, so you can make yourself the best Gimlet you ever had, with a special garnish, for a little extra touch. Follow the recipe to learn how to add multiple ingredients to a cordial, then how to clarify it with agar agar and smoke it using cherry wood chips and a smoking gun. It’s quite a process to get there but believe me, it’s worth it. A crystal clear Gimlet with so much flavor is just awesome. And the garnish? An unconventional isomalt hard candy represents the clarity of the cocktail with colorful ingredients on top that are here to let you know that the flavors will be stronger than they appear at first.
If you would like to make classic Gimlet with DIY lime cordial, check out the recipe from Jeffrey Morgenthaler:
Classic Gimlet
● 60 mL (2 oz) Gin
● 37.5 mL (1.25 oz) Lime Cordial
Shake ingredients with ice in a shaker, double strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a thin lime slice.
Rose & Smoke Gimlet
● 60 mL (2 oz) Botanist Gin
● 37.5 mL (1.25 oz) clarified Rose and Smoke cordial*
● 2 drops of saline solution
Throw the cocktail 8-10 times (see video) and pour it into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with Isomalt Candy**
*Clarified Rose and Smoke Cordial
● 260 g filtered water
● 40 g rose water
● 60 mL (2 oz) lime juice
● 12 g lime peels
● 4 g white peppercorns (lightly crushed)
● 40 mL (1.33 oz) apple vinegar
● 6.66 g citric acid
● 3.33 g malic acid
● 172 g sugar
● 1g agar agar for clarification
Add all the ingredients (except agar agar) into a blender and blend thoroughly for at least 30 seconds. Leave to sit and infuse for 30 minutes. Then, to clarify it, pour ¼ of the cordial into a saucepan, add agar agar, and place on low heat, stirring constantly. When the agar dissolves and the cordial starts to simmer, take off the heat and to the same saucepan slowly add the rest of the cordial while stirring. Place the mixture into a freezer or an ice bath until the cordial gels due to agar. Slightly stir the cordial and strain through a cheese- or a muslin cloth. If the drops come through a bit cloudy at first, move the strainer over a new bowl and re-filter that part. The solids from the cordial will make an extra layer of filtration so the end result will be clearer.
When all the cordial is filtered, pour it into the bottle with enough space for the smoke. Add wood chips to a smoking gun (I used cherry), place the tube in the bottle and fire away. Once the bottle is filled with smoke remove the tube, close the lid and mix well for the cordial to infuse with smoke. Then leave until the smoke settles. Transfer the liquid into a smaller bottle and finally give it a try. This should yield enough for 10 cocktails, give or take, and will be good in the fridge for about 10 days. Coincidence? Maybe.
**Isomalt Candy
You’ll need isomalt and a silicone mold in the shape you want the candy to be. You can find both through these affiliate links:
● Isomalt: https://geni.us/7uOQ0
● Silicone mold: https://geni.us/T8gC6zA
Start by melting isomalt - you can use a pan and transfer the silicone mold, but it’s easier to just place the mold with the isomalt in a preheated oven (170°C or 340 F) until it fully melts (for me it was around 15 minutes). Unlike sugar, this won’t caramelize. While you wait, prepare what you’ll sprinkle on top. I used dried pink rosebuds, pink peppercorn, and dried lime peels - all crushed. You can add your own touch here.
Carefully take it out of the oven (use gloves!) let cool just a bit, then gently tilt the mold so the isomalt covers the bottom of the molds. While it’s still hot sprinkle the isomalt with crushed mixture. Once the candy has completely cooled off and hardened you can take it out of the molds, careful not to break it, and store it in an airtight container.
If you want to learn more about isomalt check out this Isomalt 101 video by Chef Radukova.
Some oz measurements in the recipes are off. The amount should be 2oz In the following measurements:
● 60 mL (1 oz) Gin
● 60 mL (1 oz) Botanist Gin
I served a few really sweet gimlets before I figured out something was wrong and I had to double check.