Lime + Gin
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 115 recipes, and they share 50 flavor molecules: the top 16% of all ingredient pairs.
Do lime and gin 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
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.
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.
Add a third ingredient
- Coriander: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with lime, top 32% with gin.
- Lemon grass: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 37% with gin.
- Mint: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 21% with gin.
- Lemon: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 23% with gin.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with lime and gin
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 249 only in lime and the 6 only in gin.
Lime and gin questions
Do lime and gin 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 lime and gin 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 lime and gin?
Coriander is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with lime and top 32% with gin. Lemon grass and mint also fit both.
What can you make with lime and gin?
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 gin instead of lime?
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: Lime vs Gin. https://compkitchen.com/compare/lime-vs-gin. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_lime_vs_gin_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Lime vs Gin},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/lime-vs-gin},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.