Punch Files Ten Gimlet Variations, MSG Included

May 7. Punch published a gimlet roundup: ten variations on the gin-and-lime template, each recipe from a known bartender. The piece includes a celery gimlet, a basil gimlet, and one with MSG in the cordial.

The gimlet baseline is Plymouth gin, lime cordial, ice. The Punch set tweaks ratios and adds modifiers. Some stay close to the original (swap in Old Tom gin, add Angostura). Others drift: the celery version replaces cordial with celery syrup and lemon juice. The MSG version folds the powder into housemade lime cordial at one-quarter teaspoon per cup.

The Standouts

Three recipes skip Rose's entirely. The floral gimlet uses elderflower liqueur and fresh lime. The savory version swaps cordial for olive brine and rosemary syrup. The tiki-leaning build adds falernum and pineapple.

The MSG gimlet is the most structurally conservative. Plymouth, housemade cordial, MSG folded in before the shake. The cordial recipe is standard: two parts sugar, one part lime juice, zest steeped overnight. The MSG goes in at the syrup stage. No citric acid, no malic acid, no gum arabic. Just sugar, lime, MSG.

The piece doesn't argue for one over another. It files them as variations on the same structure. The celery one reads more Martini than gimlet. The tiki one reads more daiquiri. The MSG one is the closest to a straight upgrade on the original.

The Take

The gimlet is having a moment as a bartender's blank canvas. It's simpler than a Negroni, cleaner than a Margarita, and every variation stays recognizable. The Punch list leans toward technique over novelty. Most of these work at home if you have a juicer and patience for syrup.

The MSG build is the one that travels. It doesn't require specialty bitters or exotic fruit. It's a cordial tweak, not a full rebuild. If you're making gimlets at home and the Rose's tastes flat, fold in a quarter-teaspoon of MSG next time. It won't read as savory. It'll just read as more.