Ramos Gin Fizz
A bubbly, creamy and balanced gin cocktail ∙ Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 11% ABV ∙
The Ramos Gin Fizz is a citrus fizz of Old Tom gin, egg white, cream, and orange blossom water, long-shaken and finished with a tall, soda-risen foam head.
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 dash (opt.)Egg 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
- Give it 12-15 seconds with ice first, then strain out the ice and dry shake for another 30-60 seconds; that long second shake whips the egg white and cream.
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 Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans purchased the rights to the drink 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 everything except the soda water hard with ice, strain back into the shaker and dry shake without ice to emulsify. Pour two-thirds into a chilled highball glass with no ice, adding the soda water with your other hand. Let it settle for 30 seconds, then pour in the rest so the foam rises, and garnish with a mint sprig.
What's the difference between a Gin Fizz and a Ramos Gin Fizz?
A Gin Fizz is gin, lemon, sugar and soda water. A Ramos Gin Fizz adds egg white, cream and orange blossom water and is shaken twice, with ice and then without, for a thick foam head. It is far creamier and more work to make.
What makes a Ramos Gin Fizz so difficult to make?
The technique. It takes a double shake, first with ice and then without, to emulsify the egg white and cream. Then comes a two-handed pour of mix and soda, with a 30-second rest before the last pour raises the foam.
Do you shake a Ramos Gin Fizz for 12 minutes?
No. It takes two shakes: about 12-15 seconds with ice, then 30-60 seconds without ice to whip the egg white and cream.
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.
