Getting Ready

We’ll assume at this point that you’ve got your hands on some bartender tools: a cocktail shaker, a strainer, and a jigger. You’ll also need a knife, something to juice citrus with, and a coupe.

Before you do anything else, start by putting your choice of glassware in the freezer. It’ll make sense later, trust us. Ideally you’d do this at least an hour prior to making your cocktail. This is an optional step, but do it if at all possible.

There are different types of gin, but we’ll be using the London Dry variety. This is the most readily available type of gin, so hopefully you’ll be spoiled for choice. If you’re buying a bottle, check that it says “London Dry” and that it is not infused (flavored).

Note: If you aren’t fond of gin, keep reading, we’ll give you a similar recipe to use with the bottle of rum you got for the Mojito.

The Recipe

Instructions

We’ll assume you’ve read the previous lesson about shaking and straining based on the type of shaker you’ve decided to use.

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Let’s start by making our garnish: Take your (hopefully already washed!) lime, place it on the table so that the ends are facing sideways.

Cut down the center. Take one of the halves and cut a thin wheel. Not too thin, not too thick.

Take the wheel and cut a line from the edge to the center.

Set your garnish aside.

Juice the remaining lime.

Don’t keep pressing on the lime until you squeeze every last drop of juice, otherwise you’ll add bitterness to the drink.

A little bit of bitterness is okay, but we’re trying not to go overboard.

Add the ingredients to your shaker, following the quantities listed in the recipe:

First add the simple syrup,

then the lime juice,

finally, add the spirit.

We’re adding ingredients from cheapest to most expensive because if we make a mistake it’ll be less costly to start over.

Note we also added the syrup first: This way the ingredients that follow will wash the jigger out and take all the syrup into the shaker.

Add ice and close your shaker.

Shake for 10 seconds.

Remember to point the ends of the shaker away from your guests.

Take a spoon and taste the cocktail.

You can always add a bit more of any of the three ingredients in order to align the taste to your palate.

Ingredients like limes can always vary in flavor, so it's always important to taste your cocktail before you serve it.

Take your coupe out of the fridge.

Cold glassware will keep the cocktail’s temperature low for a longer period of time.

Properly strain your cocktail (either a double strain, or straining with a closed gate).

No ice or pulp should make it to the glass.

Take your lime wheel and place it on the rim of the coupe, using the line you cut through to the center to help it stand upright.

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* Gin sour recipes sometimes include egg white: this is optional. We’ll be making cocktails that make use of this ingredient later on, but for now, we will stick to the recipe sans egg.

** The classic Gimlet recipe calls for lime cordial instead of fresh lime juice. Arguably, the modern version of the Gimlet uses the latter; giving us two recipes: One classic and one modern. When you see Gimlets being mentioned, they may be referring to either of the two recipes, just be aware that the original uses lime cordial.

Et Voilá! You have successfully made another cocktail!

As a final note for this lesson, we want to make a quick point about straining:

Proper straining will indicate that you are paying attention to detail. Fruit pulp on the sides of a glass is very unappealing.

Catching even the tiniest piece of ice is perhaps a bit more open to personal taste: Some people like that there’s a little bit of ice (a minimal amount) because it makes the cocktail look more inviting; it evokes a very refreshing prospect. The other camp will say that any ice in the drink will bring additional dilution and ruin the cocktail’s texture.

Both points are valid, so it’s best if you figure out which side you and your guests are on, and go with that.