The Gimlet, the Cocktail and Marlowe and Me

As I write, the UK swelters within the grip of a heatwave; destruction and chaos stir in the air, madness appears to be the only way forward.

The streets are lost to the vigilantes. We must be pure, be resilient and Be Brave.

from The Glass Web

So I've been reading (as a writer it is an unfortunate part of the job) and delving into the humid and heady streets of LA with private investigator Philip Marlowe. Whilst reading The Black Eyed Blonde by  Benjamin Black I was immediately grateful during this weather to receive a piece of Marlowe-esque advice with regard to settling down to sleep after a tough and hot day: The Gimlet.

It's gin, plus lime juice cordial plus a hint of fresh lime, shaken in ice and served with peel. I gotta say, it's bloody delicious and after two you are ready to hit that hay for a good nights sweat/sleep.

The Gimlet at Forgotten Cocktails

The description in the 1953 Raymond Chandler novel The Long Goodbye stated that "a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's lime juice and nothing else". Wikipedia

The drink became popular in 1953 when Raymond Chandler published The Long Goodbye, but its origins are said to come from the Navy, as a medicine to try and cure scurvy. Rose's lime cordial was produced as a way of storing limes without using alcohol, and Chandler's recipe in his book states that Rose's is the one you go for when creating this marvellous drink.

It's taste is both sharp and bitter, that hit of alcohol adding to that. It must be served ice cold and drunk with little time for the drink to lose its chill, meaning that when the dial hits 40c you need to go in fast and loose. The lime gives a perfect sharpness as well as that satisfying refreshment which comes from the citrus. The hit you get from the gin, and it is a big hit, is tempered by the lime; you could get drunk, and fast, if you had these coming at you every fifteen minutes.

Like Marlowe in the heat of LA, sitting in the confines of my home in the heat of Maidstone makes me lust after something cool and refreshing to appease the sweat glands and the throat; also to lift the spirits and make the world appear less like a small planet burning up in space because humans seem incapable of not destroying themselves. Perhaps climate change is a case for Mr Marlowe to solve, and the culprits are the usual Chandler creations of money and power that haunt the coast of California.

So I give you all The Gimlet; not, as it sounds, a creature from Lord of the Rings, but a drink, a cocktail of Hollywood that offers the fancy and the class of old Hollywood. Created in an era of sophistication in the studios and a time of big, great movie stars who's names would appear in capital letters.

A glamorous drink from a glamorous age. Give it a go.