Fresh Lime Juice

Freshly squeezed lime — the acid half of a hundred cocktails.

Juices
Flavor profile: citrussour

Fresh lime juice is the acid backbone of the Daiquiri, Margarita, Gimlet, Mojito, Moscow Mule, and a huge share of the cocktail canon. Bottled 'lime juice' is not a substitute — it tastes of preservatives, oxidation, and sadness. Juice lime an hour before service, at most; lime juice oxidizes faster than lemon, losing its brightness within a few hours. A quality juicer is one of the best bar investments you can make.

Common uses

Daiquiri, Margarita, Gimlet, Mojito, Moscow Mule, and many more.

Cocktails that use Fresh Lime Juice

  • Margarita — The perfect balance of tequila, lime, and orange liqueur
  • Gimlet — Gin and fresh lime juice with simple syrup — clean and bracingly tart
  • Last Word — Equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino, and lime — complex and assertive
  • Moscow Mule — Vodka, ginger beer, and lime — served in an iconic copper mug
  • Cosmopolitan — Citrus vodka, Cointreau, cranberry, and lime — pink and sophisticated
  • Daiquiri — White rum, fresh lime, and sugar — the purest rum cocktail
  • Mojito — White rum, mint, lime, sugar, and soda — Cuba's most beloved export
  • Mai Tai — Aged Jamaican rum, orgeat, orange curaçao, and lime — the tiki benchmark
  • Dark & Stormy — Dark rum floated over spicy ginger beer — Bermuda's national drink
  • Cuba Libre — Rum and Coke with fresh lime — free Cuba in a glass
  • Hurricane — Dark and light rum with passion fruit and citrus — New Orleans' Pat O'Brien's classic
  • Jungle Bird — Blackstrap rum, Campari, pineapple, and lime — the bittersweet tiki outlier
  • Rum Punch — One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak — the Caribbean formula
  • Paloma — Tequila and grapefruit soda with lime and salt — Mexico's most popular cocktail
  • Ranch Water — Tequila, fresh lime, and Topo Chico — West Texas's simple, crushable highball
  • Tommy's Margarita — Julio Bermejo's agave-forward riff: tequila, lime, and agave nectar only
  • Naked & Famous — Equal parts mezcal, Aperol, yellow Chartreuse, and lime — bold and balanced
  • El Diablo — Tequila, crème de cassis, lime, and ginger beer — a devilishly good highball
  • Pisco Sour — Pisco, lime, syrup, and egg white topped with Angostura bitters — Peru's national drink
  • Virgin Mojito — All the fresh mint and lime of a mojito, zero proof — vibrant and refreshing

Substitutes

  • Fresh Lemon Juice — Different profile (more floral, less bright) but acid-equivalent.