The History of the Gimlet Cocktail

In the 17th century, English sailors began to realize that consuming citrus fruits helped ward off scurvy. Eventually, Rear Admiral Alan Gardner to insisted that a daily ration of lemon juice be issued on board the Suffolk during its 23-week voyage to India in 1794; the crew didn’t experience any serious instances of scurvy. Combined with the results from previous experiments run by a Scottish surgeon named James Lind, this was finally enough to convince the Admiralty to recommend that citrus juice be issued to the entire fleet on a routine basis. In the early 1800s, this often took the form of lime juice, which British sailors often mixed with their daily rations of rum and water (grog). The 1867 Merchant Shipping Act made carrying rations of lime juice for crew members mandatory for all British ships. That same year, Lauchlin Rose, the owner of a shipyard in Leith, Scotland, patented a process for preserving citrus juice using sugar. He packaged the mixture in a nice bottle and called it Rose’s Lime Cordial. While sailors drank rum, officers aboard ships were often provided with gin. These officers began mixing Rose’s Lime Cordial with their gin rations, creating gimlets. Over time, the mixture evolved into a more formal cocktail with a careful ratio of ingredients to maximize the flavor profile. But what about the name? Some historians point to a tool called a gimlet, which was used to tap the barrels of spirits carried on British naval ships. There was also a naval doctor by the name of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette who lived between 1857 and 1943, but this appears to be a less likely origin story for the cocktail’s name. No matter how the gimlet cocktail came by its name, it quickly became popular and remains so today.