Gin Rickey

How Brian likey his Rickey.

As most of you know by now, one of my favorite past-times is to introduce new cocktails and drinks to our gaming group. When I say "new" I really mean new to us, for to be sure, most of the drinks we consume were invented long before any of us were born. I also believe strongly that; "to experience life one must step out of one's comfort zone and try something different", which is why I am constantly looking to bring a bit of variety to game day. This is not to say that I blindly throw out whatever comes to mind before my willing Guinea pigs (I mean friends) as that would prove counter productive to say the least. What I seek to accomplish is to please my guild mates with libations, to make them smile, and to ease away the drudgery of a mundane life, if but only for a little while. I am not always successful in my endeavors and have come up short many a time, yet overall I seem to have "hit the mark", by picking and serving cocktails that make people happy.

So it is that last week I brought forth to be tested by our board gaming friends, a very old, but wonderful drink called; the Gin Rickey.

The Gin Rickey is actually a variation of what was once called a Joe Rickey (which I also made for our group). The Joe Rickey was first crafted in the 1880's at Shoomaker's bar in Washington DC by a bartender named George A. Williamson. The story goes; that one Col. Joe Rickey, a Democratic lobbyist from Missouri, and part owner of Shoomaker's asked for a whiskey with seltzer water and lemon. Col. Rickey believed that cutting the whiskey with water and adding lemon would somehow make the drink more healthy than consuming a glass of bourbon neat. Soon thereafter other lobbyists, newspaper men, and legislators were lining up at the bar and calling for a "Joe Rickey" or simply "a Rickey". Eventually one could find this highball cocktail in taverns and bars from Maine to California, always served with either Bourbon or Rye whiskey.

Just toss in the squeezed lime half for a "lazy garnish"

It wasn't until about ten years later that the Gin Rickey was introduced and made famous the world over. Substituting gin for whiskey and lime for lemon the Gin Rickey became a summertime favorite everywhere, especially in Washington DC. Who made the change and why? No one can definitively say, but it matters not as the end result is that this drastic deviation from the original has been cooling and refreshing the thirsty since it's inception. Any drink that can stand the test of time, and our collective short attention spans, is worthy of at least trying once. One hundred and twenty five years of mixing and countless millions of people consuming is some pretty hefty evidence on the yay side of giving this drink a go.


Ingredients:
1.5 - 2.0 Oz Gin (Bombay Sapphire)
Limes (for juice and garnish)
Tonic/Seltzer water
Ice

Method:
Fill a Highball/Collins glass with ice, squeeze the juice of half a lime into glass. Next add your gin and top off with tonic/seltzer water. With your bar spoon give the drink one quick stir before serving. Garnish by dropping your squeezed lime shell into the glass also called "a lazy garnish".

Excellent game day drink, quick and easy.

 As I mentioned earlier I served these to the our group last week and they were a real hit. Mike liked the tart lime taste and described it as well.."limey". Valerie and Brian commented on my use of Bombay Sapphire gin saying that it didn't overpower the drink but rather blended smoothly with the other parts. Poor Tuna was sick with a terrible cold and passed on giving the Rickey a try. As for me well I simply love this gin drink as it is easy to make and quick to serve. I didn't spend my whole afternoon mixing and could actually be at the table for the start of the games. (Very rare for me).

Cheers
AL