Rum Rickey

Yes. A Rickey has no sugar by definition, which is the whole difference between it and a Daiquiri or a Mojito. If it tastes hollow rather than dry, the problem is usually warm soda or too little lime, not the missing sweetener.

Sugar. A Mojito is built on syrup and muddled leaves, and it drinks round and sweet. Strip the mint and you still have a sweet drink. The Rickey never had sugar in it, so it stays lean and slightly austere all the way down.

That is the traditional way. Squeeze half a lime, drop the spent shell in, and let the oils from the peel work on the drink as the ice melts. It turns faintly bitter after twenty minutes, which most people like. Fish it out if you do not.

There is nowhere to hide, so a good rum shows. An agricole or a lightly aged cane rum has grassy character that soda amplifies rather than washes out. What does get wasted is anything heavily oaked, which just tastes thin under all that water.

A classic Rum Rickey calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) White rum, 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.

A standard Rum Rickey is roughly 12% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.

A Rum Rickey is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.