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The lime rickey is a bubbly, refreshing drink that works as a cocktail or mocktail! It’s equally as delicious with gin or virgin.
Here’s a bubbly drink that’s just as delicious as a cocktail or mocktail: the Lime Rickey! This refreshing drink is a cousin of the classic Gin Rickey, though some people consider it the same drink. Others say the lime version is a virgin drink. Whatever your definition: I’ve got a recipe!
Make it with gin or whiskey, or use our mocktail substitutes. Take one sip and it’s fizzy, bubbly, and ultra tangy: with effect of jumping into a cold pool on a hot summer day. I love this cocktail because it’s so easy and doesn’t even require a cocktail shaker!
What’s a Lime Rickey?
The Gin Rickey is a highball cocktail made with gin, soda water and lime juice. It was invented in the 1880’s with bourbon, then became very popular with gin in the 1890’s. The story goes that a Democratic politician named Colonel Joe Rickey made up the drink in a Washington DC bar (here’s more on that). The drink rose to worldwide popularity, and is even mentioned in books like the 1920’s novel Great Gatsby.
Some people say a “Lime Rickey” is the same as a Gin Rickey. Others claim it’s a rickey made with gin or bourbon, like the original rickey back in the day. Still others say it’s a mocktail! It’s popularly made as a mocktail: sometimes straight up with no sugar, and sometimes with sugar added.
How To Make a Lime Rickey Cocktail
The lime rickey is an ultra simple drink, like most highball cocktails. Highball cocktails are drinks that have a larger ratio of non-alcoholic mixer to liquor. Most of the time, highballs are mixed in the glass: so no need to dirty a cocktail shaker! Grab these ingredients and pour them into a glass:
- Gin or bourbon
- Soda water (carbonated water, not sweetened)
- Lime juice, fresh squeezed
Add ice and lime wedges, and serve! It’s as easy as that. I like the drink with gin like the Gin Rickey, since I find gin to be smoother than bourbon. But bourbon is great too: it’s a little like a Whiskey Highball.
Pro Tip: Skip bottled lime juice: fresh-squeezed is the one ingredient that makes or breaks a rickey.
Variation: Make a Lime Rickey Mocktail
Looking for the mocktail version? There are a few difference ways to tackle this as a virgin drink. Do the same thing as above, but instead of gin, pick one of the following options:
- Option 1: Use caper juice or pickle juice! If you want this to taste like a cocktail, using ½ teaspoon of the juice in a jar of capers or pickles adds complexity so that the drink tastes like it has alcohol! It sounds odd, but it’s actually very effective. I use this same idea in our Virgin Margarita and it really works.
- Option 2: Use simple syrup. Some lime rickey recipes use sweetener, but purists generally go without. It does make a tasty lime beverage, though: almost like sparkling limeade!
All of these options are equally refreshing: we’ve tried them all! We’re partial to option 1 or 3; we don’t find that this drink needs sweetener. But if you love sweet drinks, it makes it go down even easier!
Flavor Variations
The lime rickey has inspired lots of variations and flavors. You can get creative and use whatever flavored cocktail syrup you like. Adding fruity syrups is a fun way to make the drink look even more festive…and taste even better! Here are a few of our favorite ideas:
- Cherry Lime Rickey Bright red sweet cherries go hand in hand with lime, and make a stunning sweet tart variation
- Raspberry Lime Rickey Sweet raspberry tastes incredible and makes for a festive drink!
More Rickey-Style Cocktails to Try
The lime rickey is just one in a long line of bubbly highball cocktails! There are lots of twists on this concept using different alcohol. If you like this one, you’ll especially love a Vodka Soda or Ranch Water. Here are a few popular variations on the rickey:
- Vodka makes a Vodka Soda (or Vodka Tonic with tonic water)
- Whiskey makes a Whiskey Highball (or Whiskey Tonic with tonic water)
- Gin makes a Gin Rickey
- Tonic water makes a Gin and Tonic
- Tequila makes Ranch Water or Tequila Soda (or Tequila Tonic with tonic water)
- Wine makes a White Wine Spritzer, Red Wine Spritzer or Rosé Spritzer
- Campari and vermouth make an Americano
When to Serve a Lime Rickey
The lime rickey is bubbly and refreshing: it works as a cocktail or mocktail! It’s great for serving as a:
- Summer drink
- Afternoon drink
- Before dinner drink (aperitif)
- Cocktail hour drink
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh lime juice, soda water, and ice: plus gin (or whiskey) if you want a cocktail. Mocktail versions skip the spirit and sometimes add a touch of simple syrup.
It can go either way. The original rickey is a gin cocktail, but the soda-fountain lime rickey is alcohol-free, which is why it’s so popular as a mocktail.
The rickey is named for Colonel Joe Rickey, who popularized the gin-and-lime original in 1880s Washington, D.C.
A gin rickey uses unsweetened soda water and fresh lime, so it’s dry and tart. A gin and tonic uses tonic water, which is sweetened and lightly bitter from quinine.
Purists use none. If you want it sweeter, simple syrup blends in cleanly; honey or agave work too but change the flavor slightly.
Classic Lime Rickey
The lime rickey is a bubbly, refreshing drink that works as a cocktail or mocktail! It’s equally as delicious with gin or virgin.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: Cocktails
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) fresh lime juice*
- For a cocktail: 3 ounces gin or whiskey
For a mocktail: ½ ounce simple syrup - 4 ounces (½ cup) soda water
- Ice, for serving (try clear ice)
- For the garnish: lime wedges
Instructions
- Add the lime juice and alcoholic or non-alcoholic mixer (whiskey, gin, or simple syrup) to highball glass and stir.
- Fill with ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with lime wedges.
Notes
*For a fruity spin, go to Cherry Lime Rickey or Raspberry Lime Rickey.
**Caper juice or pickle juice may sound unusual, but they’re a way to mimic the flavor of alcohol (see our Virgin Margarita).
I learned about lime rickeys when I worked at a drive-in restaurant in the late 1950s. It was a fairly popular drink. No alcohol of course, seltzer, lime juice and simple syrup. Having recently given up my morning bloody Mary, I have begun drinking lime rickeys. Virgin Mary’s just seem to lack something (probably vodka).
You lose a star for recommending against sweetener.