The Gimlet – Fiction Vs Reality

If you are a fan of old hard-boiled detective novels, the name Philip Marlowe evokes memories. Marlowe was Raymond Chandler’s prototypical private eye and appeared in seven of his novels. He was played on the big screen by none other than Humphrey Bogart.

In Chandler’s The Long Goodbye (1953), Marlowe’s friend Terry Lennox opined,

“We sat in a corner of the bar at Victor’s and drank gimlets. ‘They don’t know how to make them here,’ he said. ‘What they call a gimlet is just some lime or lemon juice and gin with a dash of sugar and bitters. A real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s Lime Juice and nothing else. It beats martinis hollow.’”

I don’t disagree with Lennox’s assertion that it “beats martinis hollow” but the recipe I followed tonight was actually 2/5ths Rose’s Lime Juice and 3/5ths gin. That was the recipe from the bottle of Rose’s Lime Juice. I have also done a gimlet with 50/50 gin and Rose’s Lime Juice with a teaspoon of simple syrup added.

Bookstore owner Rebecca Romney who has Chandler’s own copy of Trader Vic’s Bartenders Guide just published a short video discussing this. As you will see, Chandler’s notes on the gimlet had a somewhat different recipe.

@rebeccaromney Philip Marlowe’s REAL gimlet recipe in Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye — using Chandler’s personal copy of a famous cocktail book. On display this weekend at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair in the Hynes Convention Center. Come visit and see! #noir #cocktails #rarebooks #booktok #gimlet ♬ original sound – Rebecca Romney

Either way, fiction or reality, the gimlet is a good and easy drink to make.