Rickey

The Mixicologist by C. F. Lawlor (1895, p.25) — C. F. Lawlor 1895

1. Take a nice thin goblet and one lump of ice.
2. Squeeze in the juice of one good-sized lime or two small ones.
3. Add one jigger Old Tom gin.
4. Fill up with club soda, stir, and serve with a spoon in the goblet.

Ice: Lump ice

Nose

Lime and gin rise cleanly through the soda.

Palate

It is drier and more direct than John Collins, with no sugar softening the citrus edge.

Finish

The finish is crisp, dry, and sharply refreshing.

Summary

A quintessential dry long drink showing the family shedding sweetness while keeping freshness.

The Rickey is historically crucial because it marks a different path from the Collins: lime, dryness, and no sugar. It helps show that the lengthened family is not just becoming longer, but also splitting by sweetness and austerity.

Because there is no sugar buffer, the quality of lime and the liveliness of the soda matter even more.

Compared with John Collins, the Rickey is leaner, drier, and more modern-feeling. It is one of the clearest long-drink branch points in the late nineteenth-century record.

The Up-to-Date Bartender's Guide by Harry Montague (1913, p.35)

1. Put the ice in a tall thin champagne glass.
2. Squeeze half a lime into the glass and drop in the seeds and skin.
3. Add the gin, fill up with seltzer, and serve with a spoon.

Garnish: Lime shell

Ice: Ice

Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em by Stanley Clisby Arthur (1938, p.53)

1. Build in the 6- or 8-ounce highball glass in which it is to be served.
2. Add the base spirit and the squeezed lime with its pulp, fill with crushed ice, top with seltzer, and serve.

Ice: Crushed ice