Kansas City Ice Water

This cocktail combines Gin, Vodka, Lime Juice, Triple Sec, and Lemon Lime Soda for a very refreshing drink that's perfect on a warm day while sitting in the sun. There's a lot going on here, but like a lot of longer drinks, this one is designed to be refreshing while also having a kick.

What's more, this cocktail is extremely easy to make. Sure, there are a few ingredients in there, but they're also very common ingredients most people will have around the house; there's nothing too exotic. In a lot of ways, this cocktail is like a Gin and Tonic with a whole lot more going on. Sure, the G&T is a classic, but there's a lot more you can do with it.

You can make this cocktail as a single drink or increase the proportions to make a bigger batch to share with guests on any occasion. Enjoy!

Total Time 4

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

30 mL Gin
30 mL Vodka
15 mL Lime Juice
15 mL Triple Sec
90 mL Lemon Lime Soda

Instructions

Ad Gin, Vodka, Lime Juice, and Triple Sec to a cocktail shaker filler with plenty of ice.
Shake until everything is thoroughly mixed and plenty cold.
Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice.
Top up with Lemon-Lime Soda.

Notes

We don't really have a history of this cocktail, other than assuming it was invented in Kansas City. That being said, a lot of cocktail are named after a city that they didn't start in.

Either way, we like the name of this cocktail! Kind of like with the Ranch Water, this cocktail sounds very unassuming, but it's a lot more thanks to a hefty kick of booze. So watch out, it's easy to enjoy one too many of these cocktail and end up having an early night.

Our Review of the Kansas City Ice Water

For what’s essentially just a spiked lemon-lime soda, the Kansas City Ice Water is pretty good.

I tried to take a look into the history of this cocktail, and I couldn’t find anything. I couldn’t find out how long it’s been around for, who invented it, where it was first served, or anything like that. The origin of the Kansas City Ice Water remains a mystery! I know very little about Kansas City as well. I do know (now) that Kansas City is in Missouri, which is confusing because it should be in Kansas. I also know that sometimes the Kansas City Ice Water is called “KCI” for short. I don’t know how popular this cocktail is in Kansas City, Missouri, or Kansas for that matter, but I imagine it’s relatively popular in the region if they’re abbreviating it to KCI. But I digress.

How is the Kansas City Ice Water? It’s pretty good actually. As mentioned, it’s a pretty basic cocktail. I like that there’s both gin and vodka in the recipe. This gives the cocktail plenty of kick without one flavour taking over too much. But, at the same time, the lovely flavours of everything comes through, and the lemon lime soda doesn’t take over too much. But the soda also doesn’t take a back seat, which means the cocktail is super refreshing!

This is the type of cocktail to have while barbequing or after a day working outside. There’s enough liquid in it to ensure your thirst is quenched but it’s also tart enough to make sure it goes down slowly and can really be enjoyed properly. It’s also the type of cocktail that you can make a whole jug of by just increasing the amount of everything and then easily serve a cocktail to guests as they come over. It really has everything.

So my suggestion is either treat yourself to a Kansas City Ice Water next time you’ve been doing yard work all day or make a big batch to share with friends at your next summer party. Odds are everyone will enjoy it and want more. Odds also are that most won’t have heard of the Kansas City Ice Water (unless they’re from Kansas City) and will be impressed by finding something new.

9/10