French Gimlet

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (59 ratings)
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    French Gimlet

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French Gimlet image

Glass:

Photographed in an Urban Bar 1910 Alto Coupe 18cl

Ingredients:
1 2⁄3 fl oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
1 fl oz Elderflower liqueur
1⁄2 fl oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
3 drop Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

  1. Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of lime wedge.

How to make:

  1. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  2. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

  1. Garnish with lime wedge on rim.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A fresh and refreshing gin-laced elderflower sour.

View readers' comments

History:

A much-used combination of ingredients, this ratio in January 2024 by yours truly.

Nutrition:

One serving of French Gimlet contains 186 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 20.57% alc./vol. (41.14° proof)
  • 21 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Thomas Browne’s Avatar Thomas Browne
15th April at 03:28
A favorite of mine; but my Lady finds it a bit too alcohol forward. I've substituted the different Elderflower Liqueurs, and tend to favor the St. Germaine. It's excellent; but the others produce a tasty cocktail, that's rewardingly pleasant. As an aside, I ran out of limes, and mixed one with .5 oz. of fresh squeezed lemon. Delightful. The cocktail seems to support a variety of tinkering, before becoming distasteful.
1
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Bocman’s Avatar Bocman
24th October 2025 at 16:43
It was quite enjoyable, but I found it a bit too sour because elderflower liqueur itself is quite sour 🌼
2
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Loïc Pierre’s Avatar Loïc Pierre
2nd August 2025 at 19:49
Very nice, rated 4,5. Tough, it was too sweet to my taste, next time I'll like to try with 3/4 Oz elderflower liquor. Could also be interesting to try it with a more complex gin (I have a barrel-aged one).
1
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Chris Dimal’s Avatar Chris Dimal
28th June 2025 at 20:42
For me, it was rather boozy. I wonder if it was because I used a 47% ABV gin.
1
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Florian Ruf’s Avatar Florian Ruf
11th June 2025 at 16:51
Excellent as many of the simple cocktails. For our taste we would reduce the elderflower to 2,5 cl next time.
2
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Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
17th February 2025 at 13:10
Lovely in its simplicity and subtlety. We added two gentle dashes of grapefruit bitters for a hint of edginess.
1
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Ruth Harvey’s Avatar Ruth Harvey
15th February 2025 at 17:36
A super simple and simply super cocktail. I did add a few drops of agave syrup but that was to accommodate Mr H's taste buds.
1
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Andrew Davison’s Avatar Andrew Davison
14th February 2025 at 22:44
One of my absolute favorite cocktails. I find it especially tasty with a barrel-rested gin rather than a dry gin!
3
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