Gin Rickey

The Gin Rickey is a classic highball, and it comes with a back story, courtesy of Albert Crocket, author of 1931's Old Waldorf Bar Days. "Colonel Joe" Rickey had one at Shoemaker's, a bar in Washington D.C. run by William Shoomaker and a popular hangout for Congressmen. When he called for another, the bartender named the drink for him. Rickey was a popular figure and a devout Democrat, first in Missouri politics and later in the nation's capital from the 1870s into the new century. All evidence suggests that Rickey himself first conceived his signature drink in the typically hot 1883 summer campaign season. The bartender, George Williamson, prepared it to the colonel's instructions.

The first one was actually a rye Rickey made with Shoomaker's own house-label whiskey. Though Colonel Joe remained faithful to his original concoction, in short order gin would eclipse the rye (and inspire a whole family of drinks called Rickeys). By the 1890s the Gin Rickey had supplanted the early Bourbon version now known as the "Joe Rickey." However, by the 1900s some newspapers were already noting that the Scotch highball and Mamie Taylor were overtaking the popularity of the Gin Rickey.

This highball is a classic summertime cooler that consists of gin (usually), fresh lime juice and seltzer on the rocks in a highball glass. It is a good alternative to a Gin & Tonic which uses tonic water in place of the seltzer. Since 2008 the rickey has enjoyed a resurgence with the revival of classic cocktails.

2 oz gin
juice of 1 lime (1/2 ounce)
club soda, or sparkling water
lime wedge for garnish

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour the gin and lime juice over the ice. Top with club soda or sparkling water. Garnish with a lime wedge.