Skinny Bitch

Also known as a Vodka Soda, Vodka Highball or Vodka Seltzer, the Skinny Bitch is a three-ingredient cocktail made with vodka, soda water and fresh lime juice, served in a Collins or highball glass filled with ice and finished with a lime wedge. No frills, no fuss – just a drink that does exactly what it sets out to do.

A Skinny Bitch cocktail tastes clean, crisp, and fresh – exactly what you came for. The smooth character of vodka pairs with the zesty bite of fresh lime juice, while soda water keeps everything light and adds a subtle mineral edge. The final result? A drink that’s as straightforward as it is perfect.

The Skinny Bitch is essentially a Vodka Soda, but the use of the name Skinny Bitch came about in the 2000s. In fact, that’s when this drink skyrocketed, when diet culture and the obsession with low-cal diets were all the rage in the media. Its name originated from its perceived lower calorie count compared to most other cocktails.

But you’re right if you’re thinking that Vodka Soda has been around long before the 2000s. Michael Bergström, Drinks Expert from Bartenders’ Choice Awards, explains:

While the practice of diluting alcohol with water has been around for centuries, carbonation has a more recent history of about 250 years. Interestingly, carbonated water was discovered by accident in the 1770s when a bowl of water was mistakenly left above a beer vat at a brewery.

In 1783, a young entrepreneur established a renowned soft drink company, and one of his early successes was bottled soda water. Towards the end of the 19th century, a Washington lobbyist introduced the trend of mixing Bourbon with soda water and fresh lime. This drink, known as the Bourbon Rickey, quickly gained popularity, leading to various personalized versions using other spirits. Among them, the Gin Rickey emerged as a crowd favorite.

Fast forward to the 1970s and vodka began to rival whisky in US sales and Vodka Highballs with Soda Water were introduced to the world.

The Skinny Bitch has three ingredients and nowhere to hide. Here’s what makes the difference.

• Keep things cool
  Chill the glass, the soda water and the vodka before you start. Cold ingredients preserve the carbonation and keep the drink tasting sharp from first sip to last. A warm mixer is the enemy of a good Skinny Bitch – flat and lukewarm is nobody’s idea of a good time.
• Ice first, spirit second, mixer last
  Always build in this order. Pour the vodka over the ice first, then add the soda water. Mixing liquids according to their specific gravity – heaviest first, lightest last – keeps the drink balanced. Add the mixer before the vodka and you’ll end up with something far too spirit-forward.
• Be generous with the lime
  As Rico puts it, “one of the keys to this drink is to get a lot of fresh lime juice in there.” It adds an edge and complexity that the drink would be lost without.
• Always squeeze fresh
  Bottled lime juice is a last resort, not a substitute. Fresh lime juice is what gives the Skinny Bitch its sharpness and lifts the whole drink. There’s no shortcut worth taking here.
• Choose your ingredients carefully
  Three ingredients means every one of them shows up. Use your favorite soda water, use your favorite vodka – quality matters more here than in almost any other cocktail. I might be biased, but Absolut Vodka is vodka of choice for a Skinny Bitch.

• Gin Rickey
  The Gin Rickey is a classic drink that could be seen as a gin alternative to the Vodka Soda. In addition, the herbal notes from the gin, it also uses simple syrup, making it a sweeter drink overall than the Vodka Soda. Here’s how to make a Gin Rickey.

• Lime Fizzy
  Love lime? Soda I (see what I did there?). This Vodka Soda variation dials up the lime flavor by using Absolut Lime (lime-flavored vodka) for an extra zesty twist on the classic.

• Raspberry Vodka Tonic
  Not exactly a Vodka Soda variation but a Vodka Tonic one, it retains the zesty lime flavors but swaps soda water for tonic water and introduces raspberry notes using Absolut Raspberri (raspberry-flavored vodka). It’s then garnished with fresh raspberries. See how to make a Raspberry Vodka Tonic.

Even the simplest drinks deserve a little attention at the end.

• Lime wedge or lime wheel
  Our drink recipe calls for a lime wedge on the rim, but Rico drops a lime wheel directly into the glass. Try both and see which you prefer – either works, and both look the part.
• Glass choice
  A highball or Collins glass is the natural home for a Skinny Bitch, giving the ice plenty of room. Rico opts for a stemless wine glass. The choice is yours – it’s your drink, after all. Learn more about cocktail glassware.