Name: Basil Gimlet
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 6 fresh Basil leaves; 60 ml Gin; 22.5 ml Lime cordial; 15 ml Lime juice; 5 ml Sugar syrup (2:1)

Basil Gimlet
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
6 fresh	Basil leaves
2 oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
³⁄₄ oz	Lime cordial (sweetened lime juice)
¹⁄₂ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₆ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Garnish: Lime zest twist (discarded) & basil leaf

How to make:

MUDDLE basil in base of shaker. Add other ingredients, SHAKE with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

Review:

Balanced tangy citrus, fresh basil and gin botanical complexity.

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History:

Greg Lindgren is credited with creating the basil-infused riff on the classic Gimlet in 2006 at Rye in San Francisco, but this recipe is adapted from the Basil Gimlet we discovered the same year at Stella in Boston, USA. This recipe combines fresh lime and lime cordial (part of a Gimlet's DNA) while Greg's used fresh lime juice and simple syrup.

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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Florian Ruf

27th April at 13:59

Today I tried to add a dash of Chartreuse Elixir. We liked the result very much, the cocktail gets a bit more depth and the basil is not overpowered.

Wayne Dorothy

26th October 2024 at 00:38

Really tasty and tart. Always a favorite when basil is growing!

Johan Nylin

25th October 2024 at 16:22

We had this one before eating the beef filet pasta. Superb version of the Gimlet.

Florian Ruf

13th February 2024 at 15:00

One of our to-go-cocktails, delicious!

Shannon Burns

26th August 2022 at 15:40

While on a quest to find the PERFECT Basil Gimlet recipe, I conducted a couple of side-by-side experiments to find the one that yields a beautifully balanced cocktail. This is it. I recommend following it to the letter, with the one exception being adding more basil than called for. I tried this with Beefeater Lemon Ginger gin - non-starter, and again with Aviation, Nope! I'd stick with a London Dry.