Does a Lime Supply Shortage Mean a Gimlet Shortage Is Nigh?

Ninety-eight percent of the U.S. lime supply comes from Mexico, and Mexico’s limes are in short supply, reports NPR. Due to a surplus of rain and a bacterial disease that has ravaged this year’s crop, the price of limes has increased massively putting pressure on importers and suppliers alike.

According to New Jersey importer Raul Millan, where a 40-pound. box usually sells for $4, the same box is now going for $100, but people are still willing to pay even though the average U.S. supermarket price for one lime has nearly doubled to 53 cents “compared to 21 cents per fruit at this time last year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” Mexico’s organized crime rings have taken a sudden interest, highjacking trucks carrying the “green gold.” In reaction, some producers have begun to employ armed security to accompany shipments to the Mexican border.

What does this mean for your Daiquiris, Gimlets and Margaritas? In a Tweet this morning, New York Times cocktail columnist Robert Simonson reported that Brooklyn’s Long Island Bar has removed its house Gimlet from the menu as the latest casualty in the lime shortage debacle. Limes may be on their way to becoming the status symbol of the cocktail drinking set. [NPR] [Photo: Flickr/moyerphotos]