Morning Glory Fizz
Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 18.4% ABV ∙
The Morning Glory Fizz is a Scotch whisky fizz built with absinthe, citrus, egg white, and soda, finished in a highball with a foaming head. The pour builds into a billowing, cloud-like head that holds its shape, while the sip beneath stays tart, silky, and lightly herbal on the finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 6 ingredients with ice: Speyside single malt Scotch whisky 60 mlAbsinthe 5 mlLemon juice 20 mlLime juice 10 mlSugar syrup 15 mlEgg white 20 ml
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake (without ice) and slowly pour 2/3 of the shaker's contents from a height into the chilled glass (no ice), while simultaneously pouring soda with your other hand
- As the final contents of the shaker are poured into the glass, so the head should rise like a soufflé
- Garnish with a lime wheel
Tips
- Shake the whisky, absinthe, citrus, syrup and egg white hard for a full 15 seconds to fully emulsify before straining back into the shaker.
- Skip ice on the second shake entirely; the dry shake builds the foam structure that lets the drink stand tall in the glass.
- Pour the final egg-white foam and soda simultaneously from two hands into an unfrosted, ice-free glass so the head crests like a soufflé above the rim.
- Pre-chill the highball glass but keep it dry and empty of ice, since ice cubes would collapse the delicate foam as it's poured.
History
The Morning Glory Fizz is one of the earliest documented "hair of the dog" cocktails, dating to the 1880s, though sources disagree on exactly where it first appeared in print: some credit Harry Johnson's New and Improved Bartenders' Manual, in an 1882 edition, while others trace its first mention to 1884, citing O.H. Byron's Modern Bartenders' Guide and George Winter's How to Mix Drinks. No single inventor is documented behind the drink. Byron described it as a beverage meant to be drunk immediately, calling it a tonic and a nerve quieter, while Johnson recommended it as a morning drink to give a good appetite and quiet the nerves.
The recipe combined Scotch whisky with lemon and lime juice, sugar, egg white, a touch of absinthe, and soda, placing it within the fizz family alongside the era's silver fizzes made with egg white. Over the following decades the drink's absinthe was often swapped out during Prohibition-era scarcity, and later versions lightened the egg content as tastes shifted, before a revival of the classic build in modern craft cocktail bars.
FAQ
What is a Morning Glory Fizz?
It is a Scotch whisky fizz built around absinthe and citrus, double-shaken with egg white to build a foaming head before soda is poured in and it's served in a highball glass with a lime wheel. It comes in at about 18.4% ABV and around 223 calories per serving.
What is in a Morning Glory Fizz?
Speyside single malt Scotch whisky, absinthe, fresh lemon and lime juice, sugar syrup, egg white, and soda water. It is double-shaken, poured into a chilled highball with the soda, and garnished with a lime wheel.
How do you make a Morning Glory Fizz?
Shake the whisky, absinthe, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar syrup, and egg white hard with ice, then strain the mix back into the shaker and dry shake it without ice to build foam. Pour most of that mix from a height into a chilled, ice-free highball glass while simultaneously pouring soda with the other hand, letting the head rise like a soufflé, then finish with a lime wheel.
