Lemon Lime Rickey

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 03 Jul 2021 23:00:17 +0000

Nothing is more refreshing on a hot day than this lemon lime rickey.

Soda Fountain Favorite

There wasn’t a candy store with a soda fountain in New York City that didn’t serve lime rickeys. It’s what they call an “old standby,” and growing up in Brooklyn, I drank many of these.

Of course to be authentic, you absolutely must use U-Bet syrups. I’ve found the chocolate pretty easy to find, but the so-called commercial flavors such as lime or cherry seem to be totally unavailable in any store. So any rendition you make won’t be totally NY authentic, but that doesn’t mean it won’t taste dandy.

Cherry Or Not

Traditionally, a lime rickey has a spritz of cherry syrup added. Look, I grew up with this and couldn’t understand it then and still don’t now. But as they say, “It is what it is,” and I shrug.

Back then (as now) I’d ask for this minus the cherry accents because I really like the nice, tart taste of lime. I find it very refreshing and cooling too. If you want it more traditional, they do sell a cherry lime syrup and it’s made by Torani–who make the syrups for coffee. A lower-calorie selection would be cherry lime ICE.

Make It A Slushie

However you choose to make this, it is easily made like a slushie–and that’s how I love my version.

What I do is not defrost the limeade concentrate. I put it frozen in the blender along with the other liquid ingredients and let ‘er rip. This is wonderful on a hot day when it’s served immediately. And yes, you can add some vodka for a grown-up version.

I also add sherbet or lemon ice to make it like a float. I prefer lime sherbet but I haven’t been able to find it in my local stores. Why I don’t know, but I took someone else’s suggestion and used lemon Italian ice. That’s pretty easy to find and it adds a lemon-lime dimension. And there you have a lemon lime rickey!

The Recipe

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