The Rickey
Ohhhhh, the rickey. When I was growing up, raspberry lime rickeys were available at any ice cream stand, but for some reason I didn't fall in love with them until I was home from college during the summers. And it wasn't until Chris and I were living in our first apartment together that I remembered that you could add alcohol. Since then, the rickey and I have been best of friends, especially during the various berry seasons.
Depending on where you're from, you may have a set definition of what makes a rickey. I tend to think of it like stirfry - more of a style rather than a set recipe. The main ingredients are generally lime, some kind of fruit, and some kind of carbonated beverage. Rickeys are easy to make quickly and to taste, especially if you have people with different preferences and alcoholic tolerances.
The Rickey
One highball glass
1/2 lime
one handful of fruit (raspberries, blackberries, watermelon, strawberries, etc)
1-2 shots of gin or vodka (optional)
soda (tonic water, ginger ale, Sprite, etc.)
4-5 ice cubes
- Take 1/2 a lime, quarter it, and squeeze lime juice into highball glass. Keep the quarters for later.
- Add a handful of fruit.
- Add gin or vodka (optional).
- Use a spoon or a muddler to squish the fruit.
- Add ice cubes and the leftover lime quarters.
- Add soda to the top.
- Use a spoon to mix together and keep the spoon for the fruit.
A couple tips:
* You might find that different liquors and mixers just go better together. With rickeys, I generally use tonic with gin, ginger ale with vodka.
* You can certainly use light rum and club soda, but then you're getting into mojito territory (which is essentially a type of rickey, but with a twist).
* While most ice cream stand rickeys will include some kind of flavored syrup, I prefer mine a little less sweet. Depending on your choice of fruit or mixer, however, you might want to add a little sugar.
* While raspberries and blackberries will burst right apart, you might find some fruits (like watermelon) difficult to smoosh with just a spoon. If you have a muddler or a pestle, you're golden - otherwise, I recommend getting creative with what you can find in your silverware drawer. Chris had the great idea of using a apple corer to smash up watermelon, and it works perfectly.
Depending on where you're from, you may have a set definition of what makes a rickey. I tend to think of it like stirfry - more of a style rather than a set recipe. The main ingredients are generally lime, some kind of fruit, and some kind of carbonated beverage. Rickeys are easy to make quickly and to taste, especially if you have people with different preferences and alcoholic tolerances.
The Rickey
One highball glass
1/2 lime
one handful of fruit (raspberries, blackberries, watermelon, strawberries, etc)
1-2 shots of gin or vodka (optional)
soda (tonic water, ginger ale, Sprite, etc.)
4-5 ice cubes
- Take 1/2 a lime, quarter it, and squeeze lime juice into highball glass. Keep the quarters for later.
- Add a handful of fruit.
- Add gin or vodka (optional).
- Use a spoon or a muddler to squish the fruit.
- Add ice cubes and the leftover lime quarters.
- Add soda to the top.
- Use a spoon to mix together and keep the spoon for the fruit.
A couple tips:
* You might find that different liquors and mixers just go better together. With rickeys, I generally use tonic with gin, ginger ale with vodka.
* You can certainly use light rum and club soda, but then you're getting into mojito territory (which is essentially a type of rickey, but with a twist).
* While most ice cream stand rickeys will include some kind of flavored syrup, I prefer mine a little less sweet. Depending on your choice of fruit or mixer, however, you might want to add a little sugar.
* While raspberries and blackberries will burst right apart, you might find some fruits (like watermelon) difficult to smoosh with just a spoon. If you have a muddler or a pestle, you're golden - otherwise, I recommend getting creative with what you can find in your silverware drawer. Chris had the great idea of using a apple corer to smash up watermelon, and it works perfectly.
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