A zesty, balanced mix of yuzu, gin and lime, the Yuzu Gimlet is your new go-to.
About the cocktail
We love a simple cocktail that punches high above the time it takes to make it. That is 100% the case with Aurelia St Clair’s latest cocktail in our Mixing With series, a playful twist on the OG Gimlet – the Yuzu Gimlet. After the popularity of both her Sunset Cooler and Gin Jam Fizz, Aurelia – word-wizard, comedian and content extraordinaire – was kind enough to show us how to make this breezy cocktail at home. And we reckon you’re going to love it. Like a traditional Gimlet, the Yuzu Gimlet utilises fresh lime, gin and sugar, but with the addition of yuzu liqueur. Yuzu is having a bit of a moment right now, super popular in desserts and cocktails, and squeezed on fresh seafood. Not sure what it is? The yuzu fruit is a kind of hybrid mix of bitter pink grapefruit, lemon and sweet orange from China – though today it’s most commonly grown in Japan. It’s wonderfully fragrant, smelling of bright zest and fresh honeysuckle. It’s kind of like a lime or lemon but on steroids, and it gives our Gimlet cocktail a much brighter citrus punch than if we were solely using limes.
“It’s a vibrant, zesty cocktail,” Aurelia says. “Imagine a Japanese gin version of a Classic Marg. It just perfectly balances the sweet and sour, and has been our go-to cocktail to make at home for its simplicity and taste.”
As for when to serve it? Aurelia suggests bringing it out early on in the meal. “It is the perfect drink to serve with entrees. I’m thinking some spicy edamame and pickled cucumbers.” All that's left is to throw on some equally punchy jams – Aurelia reckons Anderson Paak’s Malibu album will do the trick.
Watch: How to make a Yuzu Gimlet
Ingredients
40mL gin
20mL yuzu liqueur 20mL fresh lime juice 10mL sugar syrup Garnish: sherbet
Method
Prepare your cocktail glass by running a cut lime around the outer rim, then roll the rim through your sherbet and place the prepped glass in the fridge until you’re ready to pour
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker Throw in a healthy handful of cubed ice, seal, and shake until the outside of the tin is nice and frosty Carefully open the shaker and fine strain into your sherbet-rimmed glass
Aurelia’s top tips
Sometimes simple cocktails are the quickest to go wrong, but do not fear – Aurelia has got your back. Aurelia’s first tip for our Yuzu Gimlet is to make sure you roll out the limes so they’re easier to juice (you can give those forearms a rest). You don’t have to use fresh limes, but we absolutely recommend it. Fresh lime juice gives a zingy green quality to the drink that’s missed when packaged juice is used in place. And remember, because there are some fairly dense sugars in the drink, you need to shake it until the cocktail shaker is nice and frosty. The frostier the better – we want that drink to be ice-cold and have the right amount of dilution.
