I’m writing you today from a leather recliner. Garrett and I are sitting on the 12th floor of a downtown Boise condo complex. Out the window I can see the capitol and beyond it brown hills. There’s a glass of iced tea and a gimlet between us. We’re “sharing” them. By the time you read this, Garrett and I will be back in Bellevue. Hopefully he’ll have long since forgotten I’m helping him drink his half of the gimlet too.
The gimlet is a concoction Gramps keeps in the freezer. It’s only this year I learned he read about the sweetened lime-vodka mixture from a Stuart Woods novel. It’s a fact that makes me like the bright acidic libation even more. I may not be a vodka gal, but a gimlet is right up my alley.
It’s quiet moments like this when I think about Gavey, my grandmother on my mother’s side. She would have liked Gran and Gramps. She would have enjoyed having cocktails with them. I can see her thinking gimlets are an ideal dressing drink. Like a stiff martini, they’re the kind of thing which you can hold smiling while you twirl in front of a mirror.
She would have liked the way Gran listens to conversations, mentally tracking details and asking thoughtful questions. She would have found Gramps’ passion for novels in line with her own. I can picture them swapping stories of European travels and comparing notes on the merits of comfortable walking shoes.
Who would have thought I’d marry a man and get grandparents? (And gimlets, let’s not forget the gimlets.)
It really was quite the bargain. Now if you’ll excuse me, “we” are in need of a refill.
Gimlets
These are made with a 1:3 sweetened lime juice to vodka ratio. It’s easiest to make them with a fifth of Smirnoff (as recommended below). However, you could make it with any vodka of your choice.
1 fifth Smirnoff
6 ounces sweetened lime juice
Pour 6 ounce of the vodka into a glass and save for another use. (If you’re using a fifth of Smirnoff, the top of the large label marks six ounces.)
Add 6 ounces of sweetened lime juice to the bottle of vodka. Shake. Place in the freezer until completely chilled – at least 6 hours. Serve straight up or on ice.
