The Ramos Gin Fizz Cocktail Recipe: A New Orleans-Born Classic

The Ramos Gin Fizz Cocktail Recipe: A New Orleans-Born Classic
A fizzy ambrosia with a textured finish.

I’ll be honest with you guys: I don’t like regular gin fizzes. I mean, sure, there are worse things in the world than the combination of gin, lemon juice, and sugar, topped off with some fizzy water, but I typically find them boring. If I’m going for a long drink, I want a Singapore Sling, or something equally complex. So I don’t make many gin fizzes.

But the Ramos Gin Fizz isn’t just any gin fizz. It’s a fantastic concoction that’s got nearly as much in common with a milkshake as it does with a typical cocktail. Born in the city of New Orleans, created in 1888 by Henry C. Ramos, the Ramos Gin Fizz was by the turn of the century widely available. Or at least, knockoffs were; the original was thought by most connoisseurs to be superior to the other drinks that bore its name—“often imitated, never duplicated” as the saying goes—and Ramos’s bars did swift business right up until prohibition, when the drink was driven underground. You can still find it here and there (especially in New Orleans), but because of its large, strange ingredient list and lengthy preparation time, few bars offer it. More’s the pity.

To make the Ramos Gin Fizz, one must combine its substantial ingredient list (yes, even the soda water) in a large shaker – I recommend a Boston shaker for this one, not a smaller cobbler shaker. If all you have is the latter, hold the soda water until after shaking and then mix it in the glass, unless you really enjoying cleaning gin fizz ingredients off the walls, floor, and possibly ceiling of your kitchen. Once you’ve got everything in there, add a bunch of ice and shake thoroughly, and I mean thoroughly. Shake until your brow’s beaded with sweat, until the shaker’s so cold it’s painful on the hands, and until you’re convinced there can’t be much ice left at all. Then shake for another minute or so. In all, you’re probably looking at eight to ten minutes of solid shaking. Seriously. If you want to be true to the original, go for twelve.

It’s worth it. The resulting drink will be strange and foamy and ethereal, its ingredients combining together beautifully to form the sort of ambrosia you’d expect the gods on Mount Olympus to be drinking. The small amount of soda makes this “fizz” barely fizzy, but that’s OK; you’re using the bubbles as much for the texture they bring to the finished drink as for any effervescence.

The Ramos Gin Fizz is a strange addition to the world of cocktails, but a delicious one. It’s not easy to make, but it’s a classic for a reason. Give it a shot, or better: go grab one at a bar and let someone else do the shaking for you.

Liquors in parentheses are what I used when I made this recipe, and are included as suggestions.

ramos-gin-fizz-cocktail-recipe

The Ramos Gin Fizz Cocktail Recipe

A frothy drink with a deliciously sour finish.
Total Time 12 minutes
Course Drinks
Servings 1 Drink

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 oz. Gin (Boodles)
  • 1.5 oz. Heavy Cream
  • .75 oz. Club Soda
  • .5 oz. Lime Juice
  • .5 oz. Lemon Juice
  • 1 Egg white
  • 4 drop Orange Flower Water
  • 2 drops Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Tbsp. Fine or Powdered Sugar

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients in a Boston shaker over lots of ice and shake extremely thoroughly.
  • Strain into a chilled Collins glass (no ice). No garnish.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Christopher Buecheler

Christopher Buecheler is a novelist, a web developer, an award-winning amateur mixologist, a brewer, a guitarist, a drummer, and an NBA enthusiast. He lives a semi-nomadic life with his wife and two cats, currently residing in Providence, RI. You can learn more at his website, cwbuecheler.com.