Bourbon Rickey

Let us introduce you to the Bourbon Rickey – The official Rickey cocktail and the official cocktail of D.C.

In today’s day and age, when you hear “rickey” you’re most likely going to think, “Gin Rickey.” The Gin Rickey is an effervescent cocktail that uses gin, lime, and club soda to create a refreshing and sippable drink. Through the 1920s and Prohibition, the Gin Rickey climbed its way to the top of the cocktail world thanks to its simplicity, flavor, and use of gin. Similar gin cocktails like the Gimlet were all the rage, but the Gin Rickey was popular enough to grab a mention in, “The Great Gatsby,” as a featured drink at Tom Buchanan’s party. And despite its vintage origins, the Gin Rickey can still be easily found on modern bar menus. Too bad the gin creation is actually just a riff on the original Bourbon Rickey.

In the 1880s, a Democratic lobbyist named Joe Rickey liked to frequent Shoomaker’s bar in Washington D.C. Joe would stop in every day for his “mornin’s morning” aka a shot of bourbon on ice with some sparkling water. Sure beats a morning bowl of Cheerios, huh? As the story goes, one day Colonel Rickey’s buddy, Colonel Hatch, saw a bowl of limes on the bar and suggested adding a squeeze of lime into the breakfast concoction. Limes had gained a solid reputation in the last fews decades as a health food after British sailors used them to mask the taste of antimalarial medication. And well, the rest is history.

The bourbon, lime, sparkling water drink gained decent fame with people simply asking for, “one of Joe Rickey’s drinks” and then eventually just a “Rickey.” It was another two decades or so until a gin variation popped up. Since gin was so sought after and the “Rickey” was so vague, the Gin Rickey soon became known as the default Rickey. After the 1930s, all versions phased out until the early 2000s when only the gin form reemerged. The bourbon version was swept under the rug in favor over other whiskey lime concoctions like the Kentucky Mule.

Today, the Bourbon Rickey is considered to be a variation on a Gin Rickey, but 140 years we’re lobbying for the lobbyist’s libations in their original bourbon form. So while we mean no disrespect to gin, we’ll be enjoying the Rickey the way Joe intended – Regularly and with bourbon.