A Jigger of Blog

Sam Jacobs of Debonair has a post up on the social phenomenon of AMC’s Mad Men (one of my favorite shows) and the role of cocktails in the show. The characters of Mad Men are big drinkers and in the early 1960s they drank a range of familiar classics. Jacobs credits the show with a rise in orders of these drinks, though like Doug from Pegu Blog I think this is over stated.  I would say that the show has merely increased contemporary awareness of the drinks that have never gone away. I doubt one would be able to make a convincing case that the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, or Gimlet ever moved far from American drinking consciousness. And lord knows that the White Russian was made a cult classic thanks to The Big Lebowski.

Jacobs’ article highlights the Old Fashioned (fruit salad version), the Gibson, Tom Collins, the Manhattan, the White Russian, and an incorrectly made Vodka Gimlet. Jacob’s recipe includes lime juice, but for a Gimlet to be a Gimlet, it has to be made with Rose’s Lime Juice. This is one of those recipe idiosyncrasies that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense from a taste perspective – fresh lime juice is far more enjoyable than a lime cordial like Rose’s – but it is what it is. Here is a recipe for it from Cocktail Database:

Vodka Gimlet

1 3/4 oz vodka
3/4 oz Rose’s Lime Juice

Add lime squeeze. Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain. Serve in a cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wedge.