Cocktails with Lime juice
Fresh lime juice is the most common souring agent in cocktails: the Daiquiri, the Margarita and nearly all of tiki run on it.
How it's used
Lime tastes sharper than lemon, yet the two carry the same amount of acid: lime simply has less sugar. That is where its edge and faint bitterness come from. One lime gives about 30 ml of juice, but limes vary a lot in size, so buy a few extra.
Substitutes for Lime juice
The best swap, in the same amount. The drink turns softer and more floral, without the edge of lime: a Daiquiri or a Margarita will likely show it, a highball with cola or ginger beer barely.
Key lime
A small lime with plenty of seeds, more acidic and more aromatic than the usual kind. You need the same amount of juice, but more fruit per drink.
Bottled lime juice
Goes in at the same amount, but only as a last resort: it carries about 20 % less acid and no fresh aroma at all. In a blind tasting of eight Daiquiris, the bottled version scored 4.5 out of 10, fresh-squeezed 10. If the label lists sugar, it is no longer plain juice but a lime cordial or a ready-made sour mix, and the drink will need less syrup.
Orange or grapefruit juice
Will not work: grapefruit has about half the acid of lime, orange a fifth.
