Fresh Ingredients

Fresh Lime Juice

Fresh lime juice is about 6% acid, two thirds citric and one third malic, with a greener, more resinous smell than lemon. It is the sour in the Daiquiri, the Margarita and the Mojito, and in most drinks built on rum, tequila or mezcal. Press it on the day of the drinks, and for a Daiquiri within three hours of squeezing.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

OriginSoutheast Asia (historically)

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

SeasonYear-round

Our keeping timeJuiced: the same day, and within three hours for a Daiquiri. Whole: one to two weeks refrigerated.

Storage

Store whole limes refrigerated. Once juiced, store covered and refrigerated and use as soon as possible.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Fresh Lime Juice

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

CitrusSharp acidityBrightSlight bitterness

Tasting Notes

Sharper and more aromatic than lemon juice, with pronounced acidity and a distinctive green citrus character.

Same day, and within three hours for a Daiquiri

Lime juice starts to change as soon as it leaves the fruit. Within a day it tastes flat and slightly bitter: the acid is still there, but the smell that made it lime has gone. The house rule follows Simon Difford's advice for the Daiquiri, that lime juice more than three hours old should not go into one. Every other lime drink takes juice squeezed the same day.

Squeezing to the second is not the aim either. In 2010 Dave Arnold served lime juice blind to 55 students of the BAR bartending programme, and hand-squeezed juice four hours old was the clear favourite over juice pressed within the hour. Squeezing a little before the first drink costs nothing; squeezing the night before costs the drink.

Only one of the bottles labelled lime does the same job

Three things on a shop shelf carry the word lime, and they behave differently in a glass.

Fresh lime juice against bottled juice and cordial

What it is

Fresh lime juice: Juice pressed from the fruit
Bottled lime juice: Juice heat-treated for the shelf, often with a preservative
Lime cordial: Lime juice with sugar added, made to be diluted

Sugar added

Fresh lime juice: None
Bottled lime juice: Usually none; check the label
Lime cordial: Yes, a lot

Smell

Fresh lime juice: Green, sharp, resinous
Bottled lime juice: Faint; the volatile oils are mostly gone
Lime cordial: Sweet lime

Keeps

Fresh lime juice: The same day, by our rule; three hours for a Daiquiri
Bottled lime juice: As the label says once opened
Lime cordial: As the label says once opened

Use

Fresh lime juice: Every sour and highball that names fresh lime
Bottled lime juice: Large punches, at a pinch
Lime cordial: Drinks that name cordial; a sweetener as much as an acid

	Fresh lime juice	Bottled lime juice	Lime cordial
What it is	Juice pressed from the fruit	Juice heat-treated for the shelf, often with a preservative	Lime juice with sugar added, made to be diluted
Sugar added	None	Usually none; check the label	Yes, a lot
Smell	Green, sharp, resinous	Faint; the volatile oils are mostly gone	Sweet lime
Keeps	The same day, by our rule; three hours for a Daiquiri	As the label says once opened	As the label says once opened
Use	Every sour and highball that names fresh lime	Large punches, at a pinch	Drinks that name cordial; a sweetener as much as an acid

A Daiquiri made with bottled juice is sour without being bright. Lime cordial is a different ingredient: pour it where fresh juice was meant and the sugar in the recipe has to come down.

A lime gives about one drink

A ripe lime usually gives somewhere around 25 to 30ml, which covers one Daiquiri with a little over. Limes kept in the fridge last longer but juice less, so take them out an hour before you squeeze and roll them on the board with some pressure.

A hand press or a lever juicer both work. Stop when the shell resists: forcing the last drops out brings the white layer's oil with them, and that harshness shows in a short drink. Strain the seeds, and most of the pulp if the drink is served up.

Lime goes with cane and agave

Lime and lemon carry about the same acid, so a swap will not wreck a sour's balance. They part company on smell. Lime suits cane and agave: the Daiquiri, the Margarita, the Caipirinha. Made with lemon, a Daiquiri becomes a pleasant rum sour that no longer tastes like a Daiquiri.

Using it

Using Fresh Lime Juice

Usage

Between 10 and 30ml in our recipes: 20ml in the Daiquiri, 15ml in the Margarita, 10ml in the Moscow Mule. One lime usually covers one drink. It is the acid in most rum, tequila and mezcal sours, and in long drinks such as the Mojito.

Pro Tip

Juice into a jug rather than straight into the shaker, so the round is measured and strained once. Keep the jug chilled and lidded, and throw out anything left once the evening is over.

Top Tips

Squeeze on the day you pour. Our rule for a Daiquiri, or any short drink where lime is the only acid: use it within three hours.
Warm limes juice more freely than cold ones; give them an hour out of the fridge and a firm roll on the board first.
Ease off once the shell resists. Squeezing past that point brings harsh oil from the white layer into the juice.
Strain out the seeds, and most of the pulp for anything served up.

Possible Substitutions

Fresh Lemon Juice: less aromatic

Production Method

Fresh limes are washed, cut, and squeezed by hand or press. Juice is strained to remove pulp and seeds. For service consistency, juice may be batch-prepped and stored cold in a sealed container.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

How long does fresh lime juice last?

Use it the same day, covered and in the fridge between rounds. Our rule for a Daiquiri, or any short drink where lime is the only acid: use it within three hours of squeezing. After a night in the fridge it has lost most of its smell and picked up a bitter edge, and extra syrup cannot put that right.

How much juice do you get from one lime?

Usually around 25 to 30ml from a ripe, room-temperature lime: enough for one Daiquiri at 20ml or one Margarita at 15ml, with a little over. Heavy fruit with thin, glossy skin tends to give the most. A lime straight from the fridge gives noticeably less for the same effort.

Should I squeeze lime juice to order or in advance?

A little ahead is fine. In a blind tasting Dave Arnold ran in 2010 for 55 students of the BAR bartending programme, described on his Cooking Issues blog, the favourite was hand-squeezed lime juice four hours old, and almost nobody chose juice squeezed within the hour. The limits are the day itself, and three hours for a Daiquiri, so squeeze before the first round, never the night before.

Can I use bottled lime juice instead of fresh?

At a pinch, in a large punch where lime is one flavour among several. Not in a Daiquiri or a Margarita. Pasteurising keeps the sourness and loses the volatile oils, and a three-ingredient sour has nothing else to stand in for them.

Is lime juice more acidic than lemon juice?

Barely. Both carry about 6% acid, but lime's is roughly two thirds citric and one third malic, where lemon's is almost all citric. That is why one can stand in for the other without upsetting a sour's balance, and why they still taste different: the gap is in the smell more than the sourness.

Does lime juice need to be kept in the fridge?

Yes, once squeezed. Cover it, chill it between rounds, and do not carry it over to tomorrow. In our experience whole limes last a fortnight or so chilled, but they juice more easily warm, so take them out an hour before you press them.

Why does my Daiquiri taste flat?

Old lime is the usual cause. A Daiquiri is rum, lime and sugar, so nothing hides juice that has stood too long: it stays sour and loses its smell, and the drink ends up sharp yet dull. Squeeze within three hours, then shake hard and double strain.

Sources.

Correct as of 18 October 2026.

Dave Arnold, Cooking Issues (1 October 2010), “Fresh Lime Juice: WTF?” (55 tasters at the BAR program; “The overwhelming favorite was the hand-squeezed lime juice that was 4 hours old … Almost no one chose the fresh hand squeezed juice”).

Make something

Made with Fresh Lime Juice

Featured In These Cocktails

Grateful Dead Singapore Sling Rum Runner Bahama Mama Daiquiri Grand Margarita

Show all 98 cocktails

Airmail Añejo Highball Bacardi Cocktail Banana Daiquiri Batanga Caipirinha Canchánchara Cantaritos Cape Codder Cauldron Punch Charlie Chaplin Chartreuse Swizzle Corn n’ Oil Cosmopolitan Cuba Libre Dawa Division Bell Doctor Funk Don’s Special Daiquiri Dublin Mule Eastern Standard Eastside El Diablo El Floridita Daiquiri Gimlet Gin Rickey Green Batched Punch Harvest Mule Hemingway Daiquiri Honeysuckle Hotel Nacional Hurricane IBA Tiki Illegal Jamaican Mule Jet Pilot Jungle Bird Kamikaze Knickerbocker Last Word Mai Tai Margarita Mexican Firing Squad Mexican Mule Mezcal Margarita Michelada Missionary’s Downfall Mojito Morning Glory Fizz Moscow Mule Naked and Famous Navy Grog Nuclear Daiquiri Old Cuban Orange Daiquiri Pack Mule Paloma Passion Fruit Daiquiri Passion Fruit Margarita Pearl Diver Pegu Club Picante de la Casa Piña Colada Planter’s Punch Queen’s Park Swizzle Ramos Gin Fizz Reggae Rum Punch Rome With a View Rum Punch Rum Swizzle Shamrock Sour Shirley Temple Snowball Southside Spicy Fifty Spicy Margarita Storm & Spice Strawberry Daiquiri Strawberry Margarita Suffering Bastard Three Dots and a Dash Tia Mia Tiki Sour Tommy’s Margarita Tropical Punch Virgin Colada Virgin Mojito Virgin Passion Fruit Martini Vodka Gimlet Watermelon Cooler Watermelon Martini Zombie

Often Used With

Updated 18 October 2026

Back to Ingredients Guide