Gin Rickey

By Steve Kilcullen Jump to Recipe

Tart, simple, and strong, the fizzy Gin Rickey is the classic old-school cocktail you didn’t know you needed.

Throughout my adult life, whenever I heard the words “Gin Rickey” (and it was rare), my brain would always jump to an exciting Prohibition party during the Roaring Twenties, where flappers wildly danced the Charleston, and drunken gentlemen in sharp tuxedos slid around the dancefloor, sipping on their Gin Rickeys. Blame my high school years for that, when I poured over F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age classic The Great Gatsby with an armchair archaeologist’s fascination. In that book, Gatsby’s party guests would imbibe Gin Rickeys in “long greedy swallows”, a description that always struck my teenage mind as a great way to say “damn, these are good.”

My assumption was always that the Gin Rickey was born out of speakeasies and clandestine, yet opulent, garden parties. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the actual origins of this legendary cocktail…

In 1880s Washington, D.C., lobbyist and Civil War veteran Colonel Joe Rickey would often frequent his favorite watering hole, a bar called Shoomaker’s. This place was a far cry from the sophisticated grounds of Jay Gatsby’s Long Island mansion. In 1909, author Elbert Hubbard wrote of it: “… the place is guiltless of paint, and the architecture is an eyesore to the surrounding neighbors… The shabbiness of the place is its asset; the cobwebs are its charm.” That’s a far cry from where I had initially thought the cocktail hailed from. Rickey himself usually enjoyed a bourbon highball at Shoomaker’s, and one day added lime juice to it. Lo and behold, the Rickey was born!

When American tastes began to shift in preference from whiskey to gin, the latter version of the Rickey, the Gin Rickey, soon overtook the original and eclipsed it in popularity. Being a rye and bourbon man, this irked Colonel Joe until the end of his life in 1903. Decades after his death, in 2011, Washington, D.C. declared the Rickey its official cocktail.

What is the best gin to use in a Gin Rickey?

When making most gin-based cocktails, whether it’s a Gin Rickey or a Vesper Martini, a good, strong London Dry will never let you down. Some are more juniper-forward, while others are more balanced in their flavor infusion. It all depends on your own tastes. That’s also why I encourage you to try other gins apart from a London Dry in this drink. Scottish and Californian gins have a lot of different, crisp, and interesting profiles, such as cucumber and sea kelp, that can make your Rickeys more than memorable.

What kind of glassware and garnish are used?

A highball glass is just tall enough to hold your Gin Rickey without bubbling over as you top it off with club soda. Slide a lime wheel in there and you’re ready to mingle.

Because of its origins, will the Gin Rickey make me political?

From personal experience, I never found myself getting political while having a few of these. Going into my Sean Connery impression did take place, however.

Gin Rickey Variations

Bubbly gin drinks are some of my favorite cocktails, especially when the weather is hot and the pool is cool. If you like drinks like the Gin Rickey, check out some of these other fun and fizzy recipes here at Twist and Toast:

• Gin & Tonic – A classic G&T is one of my favorite drinks.
• Gin Fizz – Frothy, fizzy, and refreshing, don’t miss the Gin Fizz.
• Tom Collins – Classy and classic, the Tom Collins never goes out of style.
• French 75 – Gin and champagne come together for a perfect tipple.