Gin + Lime
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 115 recipes, and they share 50 flavor molecules: the top 16% of all ingredient pairs.
Do gin and lime go together?
Yes. 115 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 50 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 16% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything gin carries, lime has too: 50 of gin's 56 flavor molecules also occur in lime. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What each one brings
gin
The tartness. Sour notes make up 20% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 16% for lime. It carries 6 molecules lime doesn't have.
lime
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 9% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 2% for gin. It carries 249 molecules gin doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Coriander: the best fit for both, top 32% of pairs with gin, top 1% with lime.
- Lemon grass: top 37% of pairs with gin, top 1% with lime.
- Mint: top 21% of pairs with gin, top 1% with lime.
- Lemon: top 23% of pairs with gin, top 1% with lime.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with gin and lime
Almost always drinks: 23 of the 23 recipes with a course label are drinks.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of gin's flavor molecules (50 of 56) are also found in lime, but lime has 249 that gin lacks. Gin gives you part of lime's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 50 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 6 only in gin and the 249 only in lime.
Gin and lime questions
Do gin and lime go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 115 recipes, and they share 50 flavor molecules: the top 16% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do gin and lime taste good together?
Almost everything gin carries, lime has too: 50 of gin's 56 flavor molecules also occur in lime. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What goes with gin and lime?
Coriander is the best third ingredient: top 32% of pairs with gin and top 1% with lime. Lemon grass and mint also fit both.
What can you make with gin and lime?
Almost always drinks: 23 of the 23 recipes with a course label are drinks. Common dishes include Gin Lime Rickey, Gin Flurrie, Gin Gin Mule, Gin Thing.
Can I use lime instead of gin?
Only partly. Almost all of gin's flavor molecules (50 of 56) are also found in lime, but lime has 249 that gin lacks. Gin gives you part of lime's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Gin vs Lime. https://compkitchen.com/compare/gin-vs-lime. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_gin_vs_lime_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Gin vs Lime},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/gin-vs-lime},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.