Spring is officially here in the Northern Hemisphere, at least on the calendar, and it’s even starting to look and feel like spring here in Rochester, NY. Lawns are greening up and growing, I see buds on a couple of the shrubs around my yard, and I see bicyclists here and there on our roads. (Time to break out my own bike!)

I posted this photo and recipe on Facebook a year ago, celebrating my first shirtsleeves bike ride of the season. It was 78 degrees here on April 8, 2021; today we’ll be lucky to see 54, which is more usual in this part of the world.

When a person’s been exercising on a warm, sunny day, a tall, cold, sparkling cocktail is an excellent way to cool down, and a Rickey is (to me) a more refreshing choice than a beer.

The Rickey is a highball cocktail, built in the glass from any liquor—most popularly gin or an American whiskey, and vodka is legit, too—with as much as half a lime squeezed and dropped into the glass, then topped with ice and carbonated water. Traditionally, no sweetener was added, but that does happen occasionally, as in the recipe below. The classic, unsweetened Rickey is great alternative to a tonic drink for the calorie-conscious as well, as tonic water typically contains about 10 calories per ounce, and club soda or seltzer water contain … zero.

Fun fact: As of 2011, the Rickey became the official cocktail of Washington, DC. Drink historian David Wondrich tells us the drink is named for Joe Rickey, a Missouri lobbyist who popularized the drink in the late 1880’s around DC. Rickey credited a Prussian-born friend from St. Louis with introducing him to the drink.

A few calories, of course, are not a problem for anyone who’s been exerting themselves under a warm sun.

APRICOT RICKEY
2 oz London Dry Gin
2 oz Apricot brandy liqueur
3/4 oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
Soda water to top up

Shake first three ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled highball glass. Top with soda and garnish with long curl(s) of lime peel (a channel knife makes this easy with a fresh lime).

I prefer the shaken version of this drink, but as noted in the discussion, you may just build it in the glass and skip past the lime peeling by simply squeezing half of a lime into the glass and dropping the peel right in. If you do this, just give the drink one gentle stir after adding the soda water.

Daffodils are optional when in season.