Courtesy Joseph Fredrickson, owner/operator, Society Lounge, Cleveland
In The Long Goodbye, a 1953 novel by Raymond Chandler, hardboiled detective Philip Marlowe says, “A real Gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s Lime Juice, and nothing else. It beats Martinis hollow.”
No offense to Marlowe, but at Cleveland’s Society Lounge, you won’t find a bottle of Rose’s. The bar makes every item from scratch, other than the liquor itself.
For the bracing Cucumber Gimlet, one of the bar’s signature drinks, lime juice and simple syrup create a sweet, tart backdrop that’s freshened by muddled cucumber. It’s not the 50-50 proportion that Marlowe preferred, but he was a better gumshoe than bartender.
Cucumber Gimlet
Published: June 29, 2019
Ingredients
Directions
In cocktail shaker, muddle cucumber slices into lime juice and simple syrup. Add gin and ice. Shake well, then strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with long cucumber peel wrapped inside glass.
