French Gimlet Recipe
A Gimlet that swaps the sugar for elderflower liqueur — soft, floral and noticeably sweeter than the original.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 22%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Gin60 ml (2 oz)
- Elderflower liqueur45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Fresh lime juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard until well chilled.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
Garnish
Lime wheel
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced, it smells of lemon and lime peel and it carries a floral top note.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Gin
- London dry gin: juniper up front, citrus and coriander behind it. Brand really does show here — Beefeater is sharp, Hendrick's floral, Tanqueray juniper-heavy.
- Elderflower liqueur
- Elderflower liqueur, such as St-Germain. Floral and sweet; too much of it reads as perfume, which is why recipes rarely go past 15-20 ml.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
The Story
A modern riff that spread after St-Germain elderflower liqueur reached bars in 2007; the "French" in the name is the liqueur.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a French Gimlet mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a French Gimlet?
- Roughly 22% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a French Gimlet be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a French Gimlet hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.