Alcohol-free · alcohol-free
Cherry Lime Rickey
Made with cherry syrup · American soda fountains
- collins
- crushed
- build
Cherry Lime Rickey
- 2 oz60 ml cherry syrup
- ½ oz15 ml fresh lime juice (half a lime; keep the squeezed shell)
- Top withTop with seltzer (10-12 oz)
- Squeeze the half lime into a tall glass and drop the shell in.
- Fill the glass about three-quarters with crushed or pebble ice and add the cherry syrup.
- Pour seltzer to the top, stirring upward as you pour to pull the syrup and lime through the drink.
Garnish: the squeezed lime shell, dropped into the glass
The syrup
In this recipe
Cherry Syrup2 oz60 ml
Cherry syrup is pitted cherries simmered in 1:1 simple syrup, mashed, strained and sharpened with lemon juice.
Direct: 2 oz of our cherry syrup.
As printed: 2 oz cherry syrup (Sip'n Soda uses its own custom syrup; Parash says store-bought or homemade is fine).
Or use
Lime Cordial½ oz15 ml
Lime cordial is a sweet-tart lime concentrate made from lime zest, fresh lime juice, sugar and citric acid.
For the lime-syrup style, use 1/2 oz lime cordial in place of the juice and drop the cherry syrup to 1 1/2 oz, since the cordial adds sugar.
As printed: Fresh lime juice (Sip'n Soda); The Takeout notes some people insist on lime syrup instead of juice.
Where it comes from
The Rickey began as a whiskey-or-gin highball at Shoomaker's bar in Washington, D.C., named for 'Colonel' Joe Rickey. During Prohibition, soda fountains swapped the liquor for syrup, and the cherry version became a New York fountain staple while New England favored raspberry.
Source: Cherry Lime Rickey by Sip'n Soda (Southampton, NY, est. 1958), Imbibe Magazine, 2024 by Mark Parash (Sip'n Soda), via Imbibe (2024).
Checked against: Imbibe: Cherry Lime Rickey by Sip'n Soda · Imbibe: The Lime Rickey Endures (Robert Simonson, 2024) · The Takeout: Make a Cherry Key Lime Rickey (Allison Robicelli)
Gear for this drink
OXO SteeL Angled Measuring Jigger
Zulay Kitchen 2-in-1 Metal Lemon & Lime Squeezer
Best for Fresh citrus for sours and lemonade