Classic cocktail · Guided recipe
Gin Rickey
Start makingGin, fresh lime and soda — no sugar at all. Crisp, dry and one of the most refreshing long drinks ever built.
In the glassGin · Fresh lime juice · Soda water
See exact amounts
What goes in
Ingredients
Set up before you pour
Use a highball glass.
The tall, straight shape leaves room for plenty of ice and mixer while keeping a long drink lively.
- Standard size
- 350 ml11¾ oz
- Ice & serve
- Fill it with fresh ice cubes.
- If you don’t own one
- Use a Collins glass or any tall, straight-sided tumbler.
- jigger or measuring spoon
- Gin60 ml
- Soda water90 ml
- Fresh lime juice15 ml
From bottle to glass
Method
- 01
Ice the glass Fill the glass with ice
- 02
Measure and pour Pour 60 ml gin
Gin
- 03
Measure and pour Add 15 ml fresh lime juice
Fresh lime juice
- 04
Top gently Top with 90 ml soda water
Soda water
- 05
Stir around the ice Stir gently to combine
- 06
Finish the drink Finish it — add a lime wedge
Know your drink
About the Gin Rickey
From bourbon to gin
The Rickey started out as a whiskey drink in 1880s Washington, D.C., named for a lobbyist called Joe Rickey who drank his at Shoomaker's bar. Gin took the recipe over within a couple of decades and never handed the name back. Rye, lime and soda is still a good thing to make once, if only to hear what the original was saying.
Everything in the glass is fighting to stay cold, which is why the ice matters more here than in a sweeter drink. One or two cubes in a highball are gone in five minutes and take the sparkle with them. Fill it properly. A packed glass melts more slowly than a half-empty one, and there's no sugar to carry the drink once it dilutes.
Common questions
Gin Rickey FAQ
What does a Collins have that this one leaves out?
Sugar and citrus. A Collins takes lemon and syrup and comes out long and sweet-tart; a Rickey takes lime and nothing else, so the gin's botanicals sit right on the surface. Same glass, same soda, and a completely different thing to sip.
Do I drop the squeezed lime shell in?
That's the traditional build, and the shell does add a faint oily bitterness as it sits. If you like the drink clean, squeeze the half lime and leave the husk out. If you're drinking slowly, leave it in and you'll taste the glass change over twenty minutes.
Does the gin choice matter much here?
More than in almost any other highball. There's no sugar and only 15 ml of lime, so whatever you pour shows up undisguised, including any harshness. A juniper-forward London dry at 43 percent or above holds its shape once 90 ml of soda arrives. Soft floral gins tend to vanish.
With no sugar in it, why does mine taste like nothing?
Usually warm soda. It goes flat the moment it hits ice and leaves you with diluted gin. Chill the bottle overnight, fill the glass to the rim with ice so it melts slowly, and pour the soda last, straight down the side of the glass.
What ingredients are in a Gin Rickey?
A classic Gin Rickey calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Gin, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Fresh lime juice, 90 ml (3 oz) Soda water. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.
How strong is a Gin Rickey?
A standard Gin Rickey is roughly 15% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.
Is a Gin Rickey shaken or stirred?
A Gin Rickey is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.
Sharpen the technique
Skills used in this recipe
How to stir a cocktail for a silky finish
Control chilling and dilution without adding the bubbles and texture of a shake.
Read the guide
Cocktail ice: cubes, crushed ice and dilution
Understand why ice is an ingredient—and choose the right shape for every drink.
Read the guide
Fresh citrus for cocktails: juice, wedges and balance
Get brighter lime, lemon and grapefruit flavor with better prep and storage.
Read the guideWhere to go next
If you like the Gin Rickey, try these.
Gin-Gin Mule
Audrey Saunders’ modern classic: a mojito-mule hybrid — gin and mint muddled with lime and sugar, lengthened with ginger beer.
View recipe
Gin Swizzle
Built in the glass rather than shaken: gin, lime and sugar over crushed ice, churned with a stick until the outside of the glass frosts white. Angostura goes on last and works its way down, so the first sips are spiced and the final ones are clean.
View recipe
Gin Cooler
Lighter than a Tom Collins by design. Same gin, lemon and sugar, but only 8 ml of syrup and a shorter pour of soda, which leaves it dry and sharply citrusy rather than lemonade-sweet.
View recipe