Celery Gimlet

Why This Recipe Works

Muddled in a cocktail, celery adds refreshing and subtle grassy notes and a beautiful pale green color, creating a sophisticated and unique drink. We chose a classic gimlet—a bright and tart cocktail traditionally made with gin and lime cordial (sweetened lime juice)—in which to muddle celery, knowing that the vegetal flavors of the celery would complement the gin's botanical notes. We tested both celery stalks and leaves to see which would provide the most pronounced flavor, finding that muddled stalks gave the best fresh but delicate celery flavor, which paired beautifully with the zingy lime and the herbal notes of the gin. While gimlets—originally used in the British navy as an appetizing way to prevent scurvy by giving sailors vitamin C–rich lime juice—are now frequently made with sweetened bottled lime cordial, we preferred the flavor of fresh lime juice and Simple Syrup.