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Gin Rickey

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Exceptionally refreshing, the gin rickey is a classic cocktail perfect for hot summer days. For this straightforward highball, all you need are just three basic ingredients: gin, fresh lime juice, and club soda. And since everything is simply added directly to the glass in which it is served (along with copious amounts of ice, of course), it's the sort of drink that can easily be prepared at the drop of a hat. Featured in F. Scott Fitzgerald's famed Jazz Age novel "The Great Gatsby," there is a sweltering summer scene at the Buchanan home where Tom serves up a quick tray of gin rickeys to his overheated guests. "We drank in long, greedy swallows," wrote Fitzgerald. So the next time the mercury soars, take a page out of Gatsby's playbook...cool off with a crisp gin rickey. Daisy Buchanan would approve.

Gin rickey in a highball glass being held in front of some green shrubs with white daisies.
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Ingredients for a Gin Rickey

Ingredients for a gin rickey.
  • gin
  • club soda
  • limes
  • ice

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions for a Gin Rickey

Fresh lime juice being squeezed from a lime half on a small plastic yellow juicer next to limes and knife on a small cutting board.

Squeeze the fresh lime juice (about half a lime).

Lime wheels on a cutting board in front of a serrated knife and a lime half.

Then cut some thin lime wheels for garnish and set them aside.

Ice being dropped into a highball glass.

Fill a tall glass with ice all the way up to the brim.

Lime wheel being tucked down along the inside of a highball glass full of ice.

Tuck a couple of the lime wheels down into the glass alongside the ice.

Steel measuring jigger being held over a highball glass filled with ice and two lime wheels.

Then add the freshly squeezed lime juice.

Clear liquid being poured from a steel measuring jigger into a highball glass full of ice and two lime wheels next to a bottle of gin.

Next add the gin.

Clear liquid being poured from a bottle into a highball glass filled with gin, lime juice, ice, and two lime wheels.

Finally, pour in the club soda.

Clear liquid, ice, and lime wheels in a highball glass being stirred with a long metal bar spoon.

Then give the mixture a little stir.

Gin rickey in a highball glass being held in front of some green shrubs with white daisies.

Garnish with the remaining lime wheel and serve immediately.

Hint: Gin takes center stage in this drink, so be sure to choose one that really invites you to sit back and savor its particular flavor profile.

Top tip

Do not be tempted to skimp on the ice when you're mixing up a gin rickey. For the purposes of proper frostiness and ultimate balance, a full glass of ice is essential to this cocktail.

Looking for more simple and refreshing cocktail recipes? Try these:

📖 Recipe

Gin rickey in a highball glass being held in front of some green shrubs with white daisies.
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Gin Rickey

Exceptionally refreshing, the gin rickey is a classic cocktail perfect for hot summer days. For this straightforward highball, all you need are just three basic ingredients: gin, fresh lime juice, and club soda. And since everything is simply added directly to the glass in which it is served (along with copious amounts of ice, of course), it's the sort of drink that can easily be prepared at the drop of a hat. Featured in F. Scott Fitzgerald's famed Jazz Age novel "The Great Gatsby," there is a sweltering summer scene at the Buchanan home where Tom serves up a quick tray of gin rickeys to his overheated guests. "We drank in long, greedy swallows," wrote Fitzgerald. So the next time the mercury soars, take a page out of Gatsby's playbook...cool off with a crisp gin rickey. Daisy Buchanan would approve.
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Keyword classic, cocktail, easy, quick
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 drink

Ingredients

  • generous heaps of ice
  • ½ ounce fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
  • 2 ounces gin
  • 4 ounces club soda
  • thinly sliced lime wheels for garnish

Instructions

  • Squeeze the fresh lime juice, and cut three thin lime wheels for garnish.
  • Fill a tall glass with ice all the way up to the brim.
  • Tuck a couple of lime wheels down into the glass alongside the ice.
  • Add the freshly squeezed lime juice, gin, and club soda. Then give the mixture a little stir.
  • Garnish with another lime wheel on top and serve immediately.

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