Tonight’s drink is a special request, from the kid of all people. His Mom is feeling under the weather this evening after her dose of vaccine and he thought she might like something special to cheer her up. I know that when I am running a mild fever a nice cold cocktail is just the thing. No, that’s wrong isn’t it? Anyway, he’s a kid and doesn’t really understand the human body’s complex relationship with alcohol, but his heart is in the right place. He had an idea for a treat to go along with her lemon cookie from Crumbl, so he went to the fridge, brought me a jar and asked if I could make a drink with it. A little research later and here we are. So, in the spirit of making things better, when you can, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, the Double Lemon Gimlet.

This drink was created by Seattle’s, Natalie Migliarini of Beautiful Booze. It is a nice riff on the classic Gin Gimlet, using an ingredient near and dear to my heart, Lemon Curd. I simply adore the stuff, we grew up with it and I always have some in the fridge at home. When we got into the food business over a quarter of a century ago, one of our early decisions was to share our homemade lemon curd with the world. The recipe we make originates with my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandma Elizabeth Yarborough and was passed down through the family. The recipe called for “hands” of this and “cups” of that, meaning literal handfuls of sugar and a particular coffee cup used to measure the fresh squeezed lemon juice. At its most basic, you make lemon curd by slowly cooking lemon juice, sugar, butter, lemon zest, and eggs, stirring constantly till it thickens. It is lemon pie flavored heaven in a jar and I love it. As wonderful as it is fresh off the stove, it is even better when it has been stored in a jar for a few years in the back of the cabinet, if you have the patience for something like that. Seriously, there is something about aged lemon curd that is even better than the fresh stuff, but I am not ready to take on that marketing battle. Trust me though, when it begins to turn a little darker around the edges in the jar, there is magic happening. For this recipe, though, I used some of the fresh stuff.

This is a shaken drink so grab your tins and pop in 1 1/2 ounces of gin, I chose New Amsterdam Stratusphere; 1 ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 an ounce of vanilla simple syrup and a barspoon of lemon curd, I chose Simplify, but Rose & Ivy is also a good choice, because we make them both, just like Great-Great-Great-Great Grandma did. Add ice and give it a good shake to the beat of “The Price” by Twisted Sister, because I remember listening to this cassette late one night on repeat while endlessly stirring lemon curd to make sure orders could go out the next day. When your tins are good and cold, double strain into an awaiting coupe and garnish with a dehydrated lemon wheel.

That is surprising and wonderful. Nicely balanced, mine was a bit tart, but I blame the lemons. There is a lovely creaminess to this that the lemon curd brings, a really nice mouthfeel. Not too sweet, but you can definitely taste that lemon curd flavor in there. Just really nice. I am tempted to make some lemon curd infused gin and try this again. Lemon curd infused gin just seems like a thing that should be in the world and since I have the means of production am I not obligated, on some level, to make this happen?

I hate that she’s not feeling well, this evening. She was a trooper and took a couple of sips of the drink. She liked it, but I feel confident she will like it a lot more in a day or two. One note about this drink, be sure to clean your tools really well afterwards. That creamy mouthfeel is made possible, in part, by the ridiculous amount of butter in lemon curd, so everything is covered in a slightly greasy butter film. I mean, I know you always clean your tools and work area well, but just be aware. You are gonna want to remove the spring from your hawthorn and do a deep clean with hot water. Kinda like feeling a little under the weather and having a sore arm after that shot, it’s a small price to pay. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.