Raspberry Lime Rickey is the Summer Drink for 2022

Raspberries, limes, and bubbles…what’s not to love! The Raspberry Lime Rickey is the perfect summer refresher. I like mine made with plain seltzer or club soda, but a sweeter version is possible by using lemon-lime soda (or pop, as we call it in the Midwest.) Add gin or vodka to make it an invigorating warm-weather cocktail. 

A refreshing Raspberry Lime Rickey

The Raspberry Lime Rickey is a favorite beverage among New Englanders. I first stumbled across this drink on a Concord, Massachusetts, ice cream shop menu in the early 1990s. The name caught my attention: What was a Raspberry Lime Rickey? The server explained it was a raspberry-lime syrup mixed with seltzer water. Of course, I had to try it and immediately fell in love with the tangy-sweet combo of flavors. 

Add as many lime slices and raspberries as you want!

For the following 20 years I lived in the region, I ordered a Rickey every time I saw it on a menu. Sometimes it was sweeter if the eatery used lemon-lime soda (typically Sprite) instead of seltzer. I prefer the less-sweet version, but I’m also a fan of un-sweet seltzer water overall. Sometimes I would order it at a bar with an added shot of gin. It was a fun diversion from my typical summer gin and tonic.

To make the raspberry-lime syrup, place raspberries, sugar, and water into a saucepan. Cook until the berries begin to get juicy and the sugar dissolves. Mash the raspberries with a fork or potato masher. Add lime juice and zest, and continue to simmer until the mixture begins to thicken.

Pour the raspberry-lime mixture into a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Press down on the mixture with a spatula to help extract all of the liquid. Discard the leftover solids. Chill the raspberry-lime syrup in the refrigerator until completely cold.

 

Store the raspberry-lime syrup in the refrigerator for a week. I also keep mine in the freezer, but it doesn’t freeze solid for some reason. (Maybe someone with a more scientific mind than I’ve got can explain why.) I mix up individual glasses, but all the syrup and bubbly-beverage-of-choice can be combined in a large pitcher for a summer party. 

To learn more about the history of the Raspberry Lime Rickey, check out this article on the New England Today website. 

Mango Raspberry Bellini

I love Sunday mornings. No matter the season, this is the one morning of the week I can feel relaxed and enjoy a time that is usually rushed and busy the other six days in the week. Even if I’m going to church, I still have time to enjoy the entire newspaper, plus a magazine or two.

This is also the morning I enjoy special beverages. I’ll dress up the coffee with cinnamon, a special creamer, or chocolate for a mocha. Or I’ll make a drink, like this Mango Raspberry Bellini with a recipe given to me by the National Mango Board.

Tropical drinks are a reminder warmth is on the way. Since I’m allergic to pineapple, mango is my favorite island fruit. However, it took me a while to get the hang of cutting it! I remember my first time when I thought the pit would easily come out like a peach pit. Wrong! This pit does not come out, so you have to cut around it.

The National Mango Board has this terrific video to show you how to cut a mango.

The board also had a lot of mango recipes on their website, including this one. I like it’s minty, tropical taste. I also tested out non-alcoholic versions of the drink using club soda and ginger ale. They were tasty, too.

 

I’ve enjoyed this drink in one form or another every day since I first tried it. I keep thinking I’ll get tired of it, but so far that hasn’t happened. Guess I’ll have to buy more mangos!

Author: Linda Ditch

Mango Raspberry Bellini

Recipe courtesy of the National Mango Board

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 mint tea bag
• 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, diced
• Raspberries
• 1 cup sparkling wine, or a different bubbly beverage (see note)

Instructions

1. First, make the mint simple syrup: combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar melts. Remove from the heat, add the teabag, and steep for 5 minutes. Chill the syrup. (It can be stored in the refrigerator for one month.)
2. In a food processor, puree diced mango until smooth.
3. To assemble, place a few raspberries into a champagne flute or other glass. Add 2 tablespoons of the mint simple syrup, 2 tablespoons (or to taste) of the mango puree, and the sparkling wine (or ginger ale.) Stir to mix together.
4. Note: To make this drink kid-friendly (or for non-imbibing adults) skip the sparkling wine and use club soda instead. Another option is to skip the sparkling wine and the mint simple syrup and use ginger ale or lemon-lime soda instead.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer and White Russian

I shared these recipes on social media Thanksgiving weekend, but I loved them both so much I wanted to post them here.

Homemade pumpkin spice creamer is a snap to make and tastes a thousand times better than the store-bought kind. It has real pumpkin and tasty spices from Moburts, my local spice shop.

The recipe for Pumpkin Spice White Russian was inspired by a visit to Wheat State Distilling in Wichita on the #KSCornTour this fall. I think even the Big Lebowski would approve!

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer

1 pint half and half
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Mix first 4 ingredients together in a bowl. Microwave at 30-second intervals for 1 to 3 minutes until heated through and blended. Mix in the remaining ingredients, place in a jar and shake to make sure it is well blended. Store in fridge.

Pumpkin Spice White Russian

1 shot Wheat State Distilling Wheat Vodka
1 shot coffee liquor
1 to 2 shots pumpkin spice coffee creamer

Pour all of the ingredients into a rock or highball glass over ice. Stir to combine. Can also be made in larger quantities in a pitcher to serve at a holiday gathering.

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