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Ultimate Raspberry Lime Rickey

By Lawman Johnson

Published on March 3, 2025

Time

15 minutes, plus 3 hours macerating

Yield

Serves 4

Ultimate Raspberry Lime Rickey

Ingredients

10 ounces (2 cups) raspberries ¾ cup sugar 1 tablespoon grated lime zest plus ¼ cup juice (2 limes), plus lime slices for serving3 cups seltzer

Before You Begin

You can substitute 10 ounces of frozen raspberries for the fresh; simply toss them with the sugar and zest and refrigerate for the time indicated in step 1 (no need to crush the frozen berries before refrigerating). To make this beverage a cocktail, add an ounce or two of vodka to each glass in step 4, or substitute your favorite citrusy hard seltzer for the seltzer. If you like, blend the strained fruit solids from step 2 into smoothies.

Instructions

  1. Toss raspberries with sugar and lime zest in large bowl. Gently crush berries with potato masher or silicone spatula until berries begin to release their juices. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and berries have released most of their juices. 
  2. Strain berry mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible and scraping any syrup from bottom of strainer (you should have ¾ cup syrup); discard solids or save for another use. 
  3. Combine raspberry syrup and lime juice in 1-cup liquid measuring cup or jar. (Rickey syrup can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; stir to recombine before serving.)
  4. For each raspberry lime rickey, fill 12-ounce glass with ice. Add ¼ cup rickey syrup and ¾ cup seltzer and gently stir to combine. Garnish with lime slice. Serve.
Ultimate Raspberry Lime Rickey
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Kendra Smith.

Ultimate Raspberry Lime Rickey

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Time

15 minutes, plus 3 hours macerating

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

10 ounces (2 cups) raspberries
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lime zest plus ¼ cup juice (2 limes), plus lime slices for serving
3 cups seltzer

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

10 ounces (2 cups) raspberries
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lime zest plus ¼ cup juice (2 limes), plus lime slices for serving
3 cups seltzer

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

10 ounces (2 cups) raspberries
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lime zest plus ¼ cup juice (2 limes), plus lime slices for serving
3 cups seltzer

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted to develop a simple recipe for raspberry lime rickey that was bursting with fresh, tangy fruit flavor. The first thing we did was ditch the idea of cooking the fruit. We mashed fresh raspberries with lime zest and sugar and refrigerated the mixture for a minimum of 3 hours (or up to 24 hours) for a cleaner flavor. After that, we strained the fruit syrup and stirred in fresh lime juice; the mixture was then ready to add to seltzer for a refreshing beverage.

Before You Begin

You can substitute 10 ounces of frozen raspberries for the fresh; simply toss them with the sugar and zest and refrigerate for the time indicated in step 1 (no need to crush the frozen berries before refrigerating). To make this beverage a cocktail, add an ounce or two of vodka to each glass in step 4, or substitute your favorite citrusy hard seltzer for the seltzer. If you like, blend the strained fruit solids from step 2 into smoothies.

Instructions

  1. Toss raspberries with sugar and lime zest in large bowl. Gently crush berries with potato masher or silicone spatula until berries begin to release their juices. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and berries have released most of their juices. 
  2. Strain berry mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible and scraping any syrup from bottom of strainer (you should have ¾ cup syrup); discard solids or save for another use. 
  3. Combine raspberry syrup and lime juice in 1-cup liquid measuring cup or jar. (Rickey syrup can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; stir to recombine before serving.)
  4. For each raspberry lime rickey, fill 12-ounce glass with ice. Add ¼ cup rickey syrup and ¾ cup seltzer and gently stir to combine. Garnish with lime slice. Serve.

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