Sherry and Lemon-Lime Cocktail (Rebujito)
Bone-dry chilled sherry stretched with fizzy lemon-lime soda over plenty of ice, finished with mint and lemon. The easy-drinking cocktail that fuels Andalusian ferias all spring and summer long.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Chill everything well
Make sure the sherry and the soda are properly cold before you start, straight from the fridge rather than at room temperature with ice added later. A warm base dilutes too fast and the drink turns flat and watery.
- 500 ml sherry
- 500 ml lemon-lime soda
✅ Done when: both bottles feel cold to the touch, ideally around 4-6°C (39-43°F)
Fill with ice
Pack a jug or four tall glasses generously with ice cubes, right to the top. Rebujito should always be served very cold and heavily iced, that is what keeps it refreshing as it sits in the sun at a .
- plenty ice cubes
✅ Done when: the glasses or jug are packed with ice before any liquid goes in
Pour in the sherry
Pour the chilled sherry over the ice, filling the glasses or jug about halfway. Fino or manzanilla are traditional here; their dry, salty edge is what balances the sweetness of the soda.
- 500 ml sherry
Top with soda
Top up with the lemon-lime soda, using roughly equal parts sherry to soda. Stir just once or twice with a long spoon, a gentle turn is enough to combine them without knocking the fizz out of the soda.
- 500 ml lemon-lime soda
✅ Done when: the drink is pale, fizzy and evenly mixed, not flat
Garnish and serve
Add a slice of lemon, a lime slice if using, and a few mint leaves to each glass, bruising the mint lightly between your fingers first to release its aroma. Serve immediately while it is cold and fizzy.
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 lime, sliced
- 8 mint leaves
Chill everything well
Make sure the sherry and the soda are properly cold before you start, straight from the fridge rather than at room temperature with ice added later. A warm base dilutes too fast and the drink turns flat and watery.
- 500 ml sherry
- 500 ml lemon-lime soda
✅ Done when: both bottles feel cold to the touch, ideally around 4-6°C (39-43°F)
Fill with ice
Pack a jug or four tall glasses generously with ice cubes, right to the top. Rebujito should always be served very cold and heavily iced, that is what keeps it refreshing as it sits in the sun at a .
- plenty ice cubes
✅ Done when: the glasses or jug are packed with ice before any liquid goes in
Pour in the sherry
Pour the chilled sherry over the ice, filling the glasses or jug about halfway. Fino or manzanilla are traditional here; their dry, salty edge is what balances the sweetness of the soda.
- 500 ml sherry
Top with soda
Top up with the lemon-lime soda, using roughly equal parts sherry to soda. Stir just once or twice with a long spoon, a gentle turn is enough to combine them without knocking the fizz out of the soda.
- 500 ml lemon-lime soda
✅ Done when: the drink is pale, fizzy and evenly mixed, not flat
Garnish and serve
Add a slice of lemon, a lime slice if using, and a few mint leaves to each glass, bruising the mint lightly between your fingers first to release its aroma. Serve immediately while it is cold and fizzy.
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 lime, sliced
- 8 mint leaves
The Story Behind the Dish
Rebujito grew out of the sherry bodegas of Jerez de la Frontera, where cooling down a glass of dry fino or manzanilla with a splash of soda made it easier to drink through long, hot afternoons. The mix travelled across Andalusia and became closely tied to Seville's Feria de Abril, where it is poured by the jugful in the casetas, the striped tents that line the fairground.
It remains a drink of celebration rather than quiet sipping: made in big batches, served ice cold, and meant to be enjoyed in company while the music plays.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It turns a serious, dry sherry into something light, fizzy and sociable, and it is inseparable from the sound and color of Andalusian ferias.
💡 Fun Fact
Sherry comes only from a specific area around Jerez de la Frontera known as the 'Sherry Triangle', protected by its own denomination of origin.
Andalusia (Jerez de la Frontera and Seville)
36.69°N, -6.13°W
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