You Only Need 3-Ingredients For This Ultra-Refreshing, Bubbly Gin Cocktail

Not all cocktails are complicated or require an excessive number of ingredients. In fact, if you have some gin, a lime, and club soda, you have everything you need for a Gin Rickey. Unlike other summer libations like the sweet and sour classic daiquiri or pleasantly tart tangerine margarita, a Gin Ricky is an unpretentious highball-style cocktail that is perfect for nursing in the warmer months when you want something easy. 

A Gin Rickey differs from a normal gin and tonic in that you do not get the bitterness that results from the tonic water's signature quinine, which enhances the botanicals of the alcohol. Instead, the bubbly club soda lets the gin be the star of this drink. Because the Gin Rickey doesn't use any simple syrup or other sweeteners, you might find this boozy drink to be a little on the dry side, but it's actually quite refreshing with its tart and crisp sip. If you don't have club soda in your fridge but can find a bottle of Topo Chico or Liquid Death, either of these will work in a pinch. 

Before this cocktail was the Gin Rickey, it was the Bourbon Rickey. It is named for a 19th-century Democratic lobbyist by the name of Colonel Joe Rickey. Colonel Rickey campaigned for President Grover Cleveland, who liked to drink at a bar named Shoomaker's in Washington, D.C. It's also the drink of choice in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby." 

What you will love about the Gin Rickey, beyond its taste, is how adaptable it is. It invites personal expression. If you prefer a splash of fruit flavor, use a bubbly that has been infused with strawberry, watermelon, clementine, or another favorite fruity flavor. A Cucumber Gin Rickey is a lovely riff on the classic. Grab a few slices of cucumber, replace the soda water with ginger ale, and this becomes the perfect drink to have in hand at a summer soiree. 

Want something that straddles both the floral and fruit worlds? An elderflower liqueur is a perfect match and will add sweet floral notes to this drink. You can also play with the flavor of gin. Try Beefeater London's Rhubarb and Cranberry Gin or Pink Strawberry Gin if you want an artisanal-style Gin Rickey. Or go alcohol-free and make the non-alcoholic Lime Rickey Mocktail. You will just need a little simple syrup in place of the gin to create a version that people of any age will love to drink.