Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

These days when I sit back with a gin and tonic, I make certain to use only a quality tonic, one that is not made with that beast of beasts, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Since most commercial brands of tonic have been defiled with this sludge since the 1980s, a premium, bightingly assertive tonic, like Q or Fever Tree, is a thing of beauty. But what if you have no recourse to fine tonic? Enter the Rickey.

Not only is HFCS bad for you, it also tastes awful (even Michelle Obama won’t let her family drink any beverages with the vile stuff). One solution is to forgo tonic altogether and sip a brisk, refreshing Gin Rickey. Embarrassingly simple to make, this classic cocktail from the turn of the 19th century was the first in a long line of Rickeys, dry cocktails usually made without any sweeteners: All you need is gin, a fresh lime, cold club soda — and a powerful thirst.

As for its origins, we must travel back to Washington, D.C. in the 1890s. While the nation’s capitol is known for its movers, mixers and shakers, rarely are drinks named for them. Lobbyists are known to kick back a few with members of congress, and Joe Rickey was no exception. After Rickey ordered seconds of this tart gin drink at Shoemaker’s Restaurant, the bartender named the cocktail the Gin Rickey. It may not be so coincidental, then, that Rickey became the first major U.S. importer of limes.

The Rickey soon evolved from a gin drink to one that substituted any number of various and sundry spirits. In Patrick Duffy’s The Official Mixer’s Manual, published a year after the end of Prohibition in 1934, there are an additional dozen Rickey recipes, including rye, rum and scotch. Just for the record, if you substitute ginger ale for club soda, the cocktail becomes a Buck.

Recipe: Gin Rickey (Hair of the Dog)

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