Rosemary Gimlet co*cktail recipe (2024)

Some say, “You eat with your eyes.” I don’t know about you, but until my eyes start sporting incisors, I’ll continue to use my mouth. Especially when drinking co*cktails.

I was recently at a bar that specialized in herbal concoctions and ordered a Rosemary Gimlet. I’ve been focusing a little more on gin these days, favoringan ice-cold martini over my usual whiskey or rye-based drinks. Partially because I was in the states and people kept making Manhattans and other co*cktails way too sweet. One said-to-be reputable bar served me a Manhattanwith extra maraschino cherry juice in the glass. If I wasn’t so respectful of bartenders, I would have lept over the bar and made her stop. What’s up with that?

I tend to like my co*cktails on the tangy or on the rugged side, rather than too fruity or sweet. Herbs, I can go either way on. Rosemary in particular, is one of those herbs that if you use a little too much of it, the taste can be medicinal. But when I saw it paired withgin and lime juice on abar menu in New York, I figured it would be a nice combination for a winter co*cktail. And after my first sip, I was convinced that it was.

The only issue I had with the one that I’d ordered was that it was served in a thick glass, shapedlike a deep cone tapering downward, resting on a base with no stem. It was more appropriate to what you might find at an airport lounge rather than an upscale co*cktail bar, where drinks were going for$14 a pop, plus tax andtip. While chatting with the barman, I did mention that the co*cktail was tasty, but the glass could have used an updating. He repliedthat that’s what they had on hand, which seemed a shame.

We may not be able to eat with our eyes (and if you can, please share a video…or, er, maybe not…), but how a co*cktail tastes can dependon the glass. At least to me. Just likewe all have our own favorite coffee cup, a co*cktail glass provides avisceral experience that can’t always be explained. Wine pros will talk about how the shape of the glass focuses certain flavors of the wine tospecific parts of your tongue that will enhance the experience, which is probably true. Sois it too hard towant a co*cktailin a proper glass? (And unless you’re from the south, hold the jam jars!)

A friend of mine told me about going to a swanky hotel in Manhattan for a martini, and her favorite part was the glass. She described it as having a curved shape, like a typical martini glass, but at the very top, right before the rim, the glass curved in just a little bit, which she reiterated with the tips of her index fingers co*cking inwards. From that tiny gesture, I could tell exactly how that cold martini tasted as it slipped through her lips.

Ditto with a gimlet. Icy gin needs to be served in a stemmed glass, as your handswill warm the drink. When I’m roaming through thrift stores and flea markets, I pick up co*cktail glasses when I see ones that interest me. For some reason, co*cktail glasses tend to get broken more often than other glasses, which may be why some people just give up and use jam jars. (Spoiler: Those French “working glasses” that they sell for drinks in America, no one uses for drinks in France.) But being a thrifty guy, I buy co*cktail glasses when they’re $1 a pop, if I can, and treat myself to a proper glass. Like the ones here that I bought at a Goodwill shop.

The name “Gimlet” sounds like something that might be sipped in a more genteel era, when the proper glass was de rigeur. Modern tastes now swap out fresh lime juice for the sweetened bottled stuff. And unless I didn’t get the memo, you can use any kind of gin that you like. I picked up this bottle of dry rye gin, made by St. George Spirits, perhaps hoping to capture some of the former glory of the rye whiskey-based Manhattans that I knew and loved so well.

I knew the Jörg Rupf, the German founder of the company, back when he was tinkering away with his oak barrels and distiller, in a hangar, making eau-de-vies and other spirits that few in Americahad ever heard of. (He once made a holly berry eau-de-vie that was kind of wacky, for Christmas. He also laughed about how little business he did: At the time, his biggest restaurant account went through 1/2 bottle of liquor every two months.) Now the company has shifted hands, right about the time co*cktails reemergedin America, and seems to be going gangbusters.

Although Jörg has retired, the new team is doing some very interesting things, like this gin. I found the rye a bit too “present” for a martini, but was spot-onin this gimlet. But feel free to use a favorite gin, because you should always judge a liquor by the flavor, not by the bottle. Unless, of course, you drink with your eyes.

[This recipe is featured in my book Drinking French…now available!]