COCKTAIL · Classic cocktails
Gin Rickey
PUBLISHED · 19 Oct 2026
Gin, fresh lime and soda: the driest, most refreshing highball in the book.
Gin, fresh lime and soda: the driest, most refreshing highball in the book.
INGREDIENTS
- Gin60 ml
- Lime juice30 ml
- Soda waterto top
- Lime wedgeto garnish
Build the gin and lime juice in a highball over ice. Top with soda water, stir once and garnish with a lime wedge.
- CREATED
- 1880
- CREATOR
- George A. Williamson
- STATE
- United States
- LOCATION
- Washington, D.C.
The Rickey was created in 1880 by bartender George A. Williamson at Shoemaker’s Bar in Washington, D.C., and named for Colonel Joseph Kyle Rickey, a lobbyist who liked lime in his whiskey and soda. Rickey bought the bar in 1883 and became a major lime importer. The Gin Rickey first appeared in print in Harry Johnson’s 1900 Bartenders Manual.
✳Gin Rickey