Tequila Gimlet
The Tequila Gimlet is made with tequila, fresh lime juice, and agave in a cocktail ratio that is classic for the sour family of cocktails. It’s a balanced sipper that’s perfect alongside chips and guacamole or your favorite spicy meal.
Read on to learn all about why this tequila recipe is a gimlet and not a margarita. Or just grab your cocktail shaker, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make this delicious tequila gimlet recipe!
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Ingredients
The gimlet is a variation of a sour cocktail typically made with gin. Just the daiquiri or mojito and other cocktails in the family, sour cocktails typically have two ounces of spirit and a half ounce to full ounce of lime or lemon juice and a sweetener.
Tequila is the anchor in this gimlet. It’s best to use a silver (blanco) tequila that’s ideally 100% agave and not mixto. I recommend Milagro Silver for cocktails unless you are making a Oaxaca Old Fashioned which is more suited to an aged tequila.
Agave syrup or nectar is a sweetener made from agave. Use an amber agave for deeper flavor.
Lime juice provides the sour component in this gimlet. You’ll need just about one lime for one ounce of lime juice.
It’s easiest to create your lime garnish before squeezing the lime. Or use a dried orange slice for garnish.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- Make a gin gimlet like this strawberry gimlet or lavender gimlet.
- Make a spicy tequila gimlet.
- Swab the agave for a simple syrup made with Demerara sugar, blackberry simple syrup, or another flavor.
- Swap out the agave for an ounce of Cointreau, and you have a margarita.
Recipe tips and tricks
Making a gimlet with tequila is not complicated. Simply add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake and double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with lime peel expressed over the glass, and enjoy!
Tip from the wise quacker: The teaching is that cocktails with lime or other citrus juices should be shaken. Cocktails should be stirred if they are all liquor.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, that is perfectly acceptable.
Purists will say that a margarita must contain triple sec. However, just like how the espresso martini isn’t a martini, there are cocktails like the Tommy’s Margarita which is a skinny margarita that doesn’t follow any rules.
Related cocktail recipes
Check out other cocktail recipes from the Ugly Duckling Bakery archives
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Tequila Gimlet
Ingredients
- 2 ounces blanco (silver) tequila
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ ounce agave nectar amber or light
- lime twist or wheel for garnish
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker packed with ice and shake for about 10 to 20 seconds to chill.2 ounces blanco (silver) tequila, 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice, ½ ounce agave nectar
- Double strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with your lime twist or wheel. Enjoy!lime twist or wheel
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was inspired by that lime rose created for the 2024 52 weeks of cocktails challenge, week 3: garnish.
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