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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Photographed in a Speakeasy Coupe 8.5oz

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

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of lime zest twist and basil leaf.
MUDDLE basil leaves (with stems) in base of shaker.
Add other ingredients and SHAKE with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Express lime zest twist over cocktail and discard.
Garnish with a basil leaf boat floated on surface.

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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Andrew Bennett

4th July at 21:17

I prefer this lime based drink to the lemon based Basil Smash. I also make it without the cordial, so I tend to call it a smash rather than a gimlet, but the key difference is that it is better with lime.

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.