2 oz gin
½ oz fresh lime juice
¼ oz simple syrup (optional) *see note
Club soda
Garnish: lime wheels & twist
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add gin & lime juice (& simple syrup if desired). Stir & top with soda water. Garnish with lime wheels and/or a lime twist.
*note: The original recipe doesn’t call for simple syrup, but modern bartenders have found that a touch of sweetness can help bring out the flavor of the lime juice. We tried it both ways and liked preferred it with the syrup.
The Gin Rickey is one of the few classic cocktails with a clear and well documented origin story.
The first version, made with bourbon, was invented by bartender George A. Williamson around 1880 at Shoomaker’s Bar in DC. It was named after a democratic lobbyist named Colonel Joseph Kyle Rickey (better known as Joe Rickey).
Rickey didn’t like sweet drinks, and usually liked to drink bourbon combined with carbonated water. One day, he asked the bartender at Shoomaker’s to add some lime to his highball, and the Bourbon Rickey was born. Joe Rickey actually purchased the bar in 1883 & went on to become a major lime importer.
The Rickey took off, and before long people were customizing the drink to their liking, substituting other liquors for the bourbon. In 1882 the Gin Rickey first appeared in print, and has been a huge hit ever since. The gin version quickly became more popular than the original bourbon version, and by the 1910s & 20s it was everywhere. In fact, it was even mentioned in the 1925 classic, “The Great Gatsby,” when Tom Buchanan served his guests a platter of Rickeys.
In 2011, more than a century after its creation, the Rickey was declared Washington D.C.’s official cocktail.
Many confuse the Rickey with the Collins cocktail, but the Collins is made with lemon juice instead of lime, and always contains sugar or simple syrup.