Ramos Gin Fizz
Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 11.7% ABV ∙
A citrus fizz built with Old Tom gin, egg white, cream, orange blossom water, and soda, double-shaken and topped with a soda-risen foam head. Silky cream and billowing egg-white foam carry tart citrus and a floral whisper of orange blossom, finishing light and fizzy — a slow, indulgent brunch sipper.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 8 ingredients with ice: Old Tom gin 60 mlLemon juice 15 mlLime juice 15 mlSugar syrup 20 mlOrange blossom water 1 mlVanilla extract/essence 1 dashEgg white 20 mlSingle cream/half-and-half 20 ml
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake (without ice) to emulsify
- Slowly pour 2/3 of the shaker’s contents into the chilled empty glass (no ice in the glass) while simultaneously pouring Soda water 20 ml with your other hand
- Leave to settle for 30 seconds
- Pour the final contents of the shaker into the glass. As you do so, the head should rise like a soufflé
- Garnish with a mint sprig
Tips
- Shake with ice for a full 12-15 seconds first, then strain out the ice and dry shake for another 30-60 seconds to fully emulsify the egg white and cream.
- Pour the strained mix into the chilled glass and the soda water simultaneously with two hands, so the fizz builds without deflating the foam.
- Let the poured drink rest undisturbed for 30 seconds before adding the remainder, allowing the head to set and rise like a soufflé rather than collapse.
History
The Ramos Gin Fizz is a variation on the classic Gin Fizz, a cocktail built on gin, lemon juice, and sugar shaken with ice and topped with soda water, first documented in Jerry Thomas's 1876 Bartender's Guide. Henry C. Ramos created his signature version in 1888 at the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, a bar he ran with his brother on the corner of Gravier and Carondelet Streets in New Orleans. He originally called it the New Orleans Fizz, but as it grew famous it came to carry his own name instead. Ramos's twist added egg white, cream, and orange flower water to the standard fizz, and demanded such prolonged, vigorous shaking to emulsify the mixture that the bar reportedly kept a rotating relay of bartenders, sometimes numbering twenty or more, dedicated solely to shaking it. In 1935 the Fairmont Hotel (later the Roosevelt) in New Orleans purchased the rights to the drink from Ramos's son and trademarked it. That same year, Louisiana governor Huey P. Long, a devoted fan of the cocktail, had a Roosevelt Hotel bartender travel to the Hotel New Yorker in New York City to teach the staff how to make it properly.
FAQ
How do you make a Ramos Gin Fizz?
Shake Old Tom gin, lemon and lime juice, sugar syrup, orange blossom water, egg white, and cream hard with ice, then strain the mix back into the empty shaker and dry shake it without ice to emulsify. Pour two-thirds of it into a chilled highball glass while simultaneously pouring in the soda water, let it settle for 30 seconds, then pour in the rest so the foam rises up the glass, and finish with a mint sprig.
What are the ingredients of a Gin Fizz?
A classic Gin Fizz is gin, lemon juice, sugar, and soda water, shaken and topped with soda in a highball glass. The Ramos Gin Fizz is a much richer variation of that formula, built on Old Tom gin with lemon and lime juice, sugar syrup, egg white, cream, orange blossom water, and soda, which is why this recipe carries far more ingredients than a standard Gin Fizz.
What's the difference between a Gin Fizz and a Ramos Gin Fizz?
A Gin Fizz is a simple shaken mix of gin, lemon, sugar, and soda water, while a Ramos Gin Fizz adds egg white, cream, and orange blossom water and uses a double-shake technique to build a thick, foamy head. This makes the Ramos version far creamier and heavier in body, and considerably more involved to prepare than its simpler namesake.
What makes a Ramos Gin Fizz so difficult to make?
The difficulty comes from the double shake needed to properly emulsify the egg white and cream, first with ice, then again without ice, before the drink is built. The pour itself also demands coordination, since the strained mix and the soda water are poured into the glass at the same time, followed by a 30-second rest before the final top-up creates the drink's signature rising foam head.
Do you shake a Ramos Gin Fizz for 12 minutes?
No, this recipe does not call for a 12-minute shake; it uses a double shake, first with ice and then a dry shake without ice to emulsify the egg white and cream. Long shake times are sometimes associated with this drink's reputation for being labor-intensive, but the technique here relies on two distinct, well-executed shakes rather than one extended one.
Is a Gin Fizz the same as a Tom Collins?
No, they are related but distinct: a Gin Fizz is shaken and served without ice in a smaller glass, while a Tom Collins is built over ice in a taller glass with more soda water. The Ramos Gin Fizz follows the Fizz format, served up in a highball without ice in the glass itself, but with egg white, cream, and orange blossom water added.
What glass is a Ramos Gin Fizz served in?
A highball glass, chilled beforehand and poured without ice so the risen foam head stays intact, garnished with a mint sprig.
