Non-alcoholic Gin Lime Rickey with cilantro

This is my 1000th post so we are celebrating with a COCKTAIL!  Today is a Rickey. Rickey is a name for a cocktail served in a highball glass made from gin or bourbon, half of a lime squeezed and dropped in the glass, and carbonated water. Little or no sugar is added to the rickey. 

Originally created with bourbon in Washington, D.C. at Shoomaker's bar by bartender George A. This version uses the added flavor of cilantro and a fake gin (see below) and adds a bit of sugar, because gin is naturally bitter, sugar is often used with gin, but rarely with bourbon.

We make Mocktails like this in a demonstration lecture Crafting Mocktails, it is a popular program so if you are in the northern Illinois area and would like to see the program check out the UPCOMING PROGRAM page to see where we will be next.

To make the Fake Gin you follow these simple directions:

Using a quart glass canning jar place the following items in the bottom:

2 tsp juniper berries

Peel of one entire lemon (no pith)

Peel of one orange

1 star anise

1 tsp coriander seed

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp savory

Add 2 cups cold water


Place a cover on the jar and infuse in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours before using. Strain out the solids.  No need to strain out the citrus early, that bitterness from the peel is desired.

We make a kit for crafting this Faux Gin in water for a nonalcoholic version or vodka as an alcoholic version.

Once you have the Fake Gin, then you can make the Lime Rickey

Gin Lime Rickey with Cilantro
1 cup water
Juice of 3 limes
1 cup Fake Gin
3 tablespoons sugar
1 small bunch cilantro
2 limes, quartered
3 cups club soda

Directions:
Combine water, lime juice, fake gin, sugar, cilantro and lime in a pitcher. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. To serve, add club soda. 

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018. 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)

Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)

March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)

April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)

May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)

June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)

July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes (ZucJul)

August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes (MustardAug)

September 2019 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2019 - Crock Pot meals (CrockOct)

November 2019 - Pies (PieNov)

December 2019 - Mocktails (MockDec)