Hopped Gimlet — A gin gimlet with the grapefruit and hops of a cold IPA dashed through it

Hopped Gimlet

A gin gimlet with the grapefruit and hops of a cold IPA dashed through it

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Ingredients

  • 3/4 ozLime Juice
    Fresh
  • 4 dashesHopped Grapefruit Bitters
    Grapefruit peel and high alpha-acid hops
    Substitute: A grapefruit bitters, though the hops are the point
  • 2 ozGin
    A London dry gin
    Substitute: A blanco tequila, which the hops also flatter
  • 1/2 ozSimple Syrup
    Sugar and water 1:1
    Substitute: Lime cordial, for the older style of gimlet

Instructions

  1. Chill a coupe
  2. Shake 2 oz gin, 3/4 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup and 4 dashes hopped grapefruit bitters with ice
  3. Double strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with a grapefruit twist

Technique Notes

Four dashes, and add them before the shake rather than on top. Hops are volatile and read as aroma; shaken in they carry through the whole drink instead of fading after the first sip.

Why the Hopped Gimlet Works

Gin botanicals and hop resins are close cousins, which is why this reads as one flavour rather than two. The grapefruit does the work lime cannot: lime supplies acid and almost no aroma, so the glass has room above it, and that is the room these bitters fill.