Soda-Fountain Lime Rickey

Before you start

The original rickey was a bar drink of spirit, lime and soda water with no sugar at all. American soda fountains later turned it into a nonalcoholic refresher by adding a sweet syrup, and the lime rickey became a counter staple, sometimes colored with raspberry or cherry syrup. What both versions share is a high proportion of soda water and a whole half lime squeezed and dropped into the glass.

This is meant to be tart and dry compared with lemonade or a cherry limeade. The spent lime shell in the glass keeps adding aroma from its peel as you drink. Use the coldest, fizziest soda water you have, and build the drink directly in the glass over ice so nothing is lost to a shaker.

Ingredients

• ½ lime — about 15 to 20 ml juice
• 15 to 20 ml (½ to ⅔ oz) simple syrup (1:1) — or raspberry syrup
• 180 to 210 ml (6 to 7 oz) soda water — very cold
• To fill ice cubes

Method

1. Fill the highball glass with ice cubes to chill it.
2. Squeeze the half lime directly into the glass, then drop in the spent shell.
3. Add the syrup. Start with 15 ml for a sharp rickey and go up to 20 ml if your lime is very acidic.
4. Top slowly with cold soda water until the glass is almost full.
5. Give one gentle lift with the bar spoon from the bottom to mix in the syrup, and serve at once.

Tips for success

• Open a fresh bottle of soda water or use a soda siphon. Half-flat soda makes a dull rickey.
• Keep the soda in the fridge, not the door. Colder water holds more carbonation.
• Taste after the first sip. The drink should be dry and bracing, not lemonade-sweet.

Substitutions

Simple syrup

Raspberry syrup makes the pink raspberry lime rickey, fruitier and a little sweeter. Use the same amount.

Soda water

Mineral water with natural carbonation adds a faint salinity that sharpens the lime.

Lime

Half a lemon gives a softer, less pungent drink, closer to a lemon soda.

Variations

Raspberry lime rickey

Use 20 ml raspberry syrup and garnish with a few fresh raspberries.

Cherry lime rickey

Swap the simple syrup for 20 ml cherry syrup and add a cherry to the glass. It stays drier than a drive-in cherry limeade because it uses plain soda water.

Troubleshooting

Tastes flat

The soda water lost its fizz or the drink was stirred hard. Use fresh soda and mix with one lift only.

Too sour

Limes vary a lot. Add 5 ml syrup at a time until the edge softens.

Bitter finish

Squeezing the shell very hard pushes bitter pith oils into the drink. Squeeze firmly but not to the point of crushing the peel.

Storage

Build each drink to order and serve immediately; carbonation fades within minutes once poured. Simple syrup keeps in the fridge in a sealed bottle for 2 to 4 weeks.