Gin Rickey With Raspberry Essence

This is a Gin Rickey, and I’m calling it my “Fall transition cocktail“. Even if you have not tried one, a Gin Rickey (also known as a Lime Rickey) is a classic drink. Simple and refreshing, a traditional “Rickey” is simply gin (or bourbon), mixed with lime juice and carbonated water. Little or no sugar is added to a Rickey.

The Rickey was created with bourbon by a bartender named George A. Williamson from Shoomaker, a dive bar in Washington D.C. in 1880. An official recipe for the Rickey appeared in the around 1903. Legend has it that this popular drink was made in collaboration with Democratic lobbyist Colonel Joe Rickey, hence the name. The Rickey, later made with gin, would go on to become a cocktail sensation a decade after its inception.

The popularity of this simple cocktail grew again circa 2008 with the revival of classic cocktails at bars and restaurants. The D.C.-based group of bartenders who call themselves “the D.C. Craft Bartenders Guild” loved this oldie so much that they established July as “Rickey Month“.

I punch up this classic cocktail with just a splash of raspberry simple syrup and lime-flavored sparkling mineral water to give this oldie a modern twist. Although “Rickey month” has passed (that was July), I’m planning on sipping a D.C. native cocktail this Fall while I hold onto my summer memories tightly.