Lime Rickey
Fresh lime juice and soda water — no sweetener whatsoever, the Shoomaker's D.C. bar format (1880s) stripped of its gin for the American soda fountain era.
- 1 ozfresh lime juice(freshly squeezed)
- ¾ ozsimple syrup(1:1 ratio)
- 6 ozclub soda(chilled)
- lime wheelgarnish
- 1Fill a highball glass with ice.
- 2Add lime juice and simple syrup.
- 3Top with club soda.
- 4Stir gently to combine.
- 5Garnish with a lime wheel.
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The Lime Rickey originated at Shoomaker's bar in Washington, D.C. in the 1880s, named after Colonel Joe Rickey — a Democratic Party lobbyist and bourbon enthusiast who regularly lunched at the establishment. Bartender George Williamson created the original Rickey, which was a gin drink, at Rickey's request for something tall, refreshing, and completely free of sweetener. The Rickey's defining characteristic — its total absence of sugar — distinguished it from the Collins and Fizz families that otherwise used the same template of spirit, citrus, and soda. The non-alcoholic Lime Rickey drops the spirit while retaining the essential structure: fresh lime juice and carbonated water with no added sweetener beyond whatever fruit sugar the lime contributes. It became a summer soda fountain staple across America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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