Happy Hour: Ramos Gin Fizz

I have been mulling over the idea of complementing Monday Night Wines with cocktail themed posts. Today, we have Happy Hour. Each week I will post about a cocktail I have either made myself or have enjoyed at a bar. We will begin with a true classic from the cannon of mixology, the Ramos Gin Fizz.

In my studies for the Master Sommelier Advanced test, I need to know the ingredients in various cocktails and how they are made. Since I have never tended bar, I decided that I should begin to frequent local bars to see how the pros make the classics. My first assignment was Ramos Gin Fizz. My local bar, The Alembic Bar on Haight Street, is known for producing carefully thought out, ingredient driven cocktails with a focus on the classics. Shauna and I headed down to the bar on a Saturday night and I asked our bartender for the drink, and he asked me to come back the next day during the afternoon. He explained that the cocktail was very labor intensive, and due to the number of guests he could not make it.

The following day I walked back to the bar, bellied up and placed my order for the Ramos Gin Fizz. The Ramos Gin Fizz, or the New Orleans Fizz as it was originally called, was created in the 1880's by Henry C. Ramos at Meyer's Restaurant. The cocktail was an instant success and took New Orleans by storm until Prohibition. In the 1930's the drink was revived by the love of the Governor of Louisiana, Huey Long. Governor Long so loved the drink he had his favorite bartender from New Orleans, Sam Guaino, sent to the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan to teach the staff at the hotel how to make the drink so when the Governor was in town he could drink his hometown cocktail. This cocktail education of Yankees allowed the Ramos Gin Fizz to gain a wider audience and the rest is history.

The Ramos Gin Fizz is a dry gin based cocktail with cream, egg white, confectioner's sugar, lemon and lime juice, orange flower water and a splash of soda water. The combination of all these ingredients may seem a bit odd to a novice, but when combined (then shaken until one's arm is about to fall off!) the drink is sublime. The key to making this drink is in the two different shakes: the dry shake and the wet shake. First combine all the ingredients, except for the soda water, and shake them for at least 30 seconds. This allows the cream and egg whites to emulsify, which produces an amazing foam that makes this a really fun cocktail. After the "dry shake" add ice to the shaker, and again shake until your arm is about to fall off. This is the "wet shake". After the second shake strain the cocktail into a Collin's or milk shake glass (picture at left is of bartender Thomas' Ramos Gin Fizz) and add a splash of soda water. The orange flower water creates a spa like aroma, while the cream and egg whites create a milk shake texture. The gin is a secondary player with regards to flavor and intensity. It adds a contrast to the intense aromatics of the orange flower water, and of course, adds the "relaxing" element to the cocktail.

Ramos Gin Fizz
2 oz Plymouth Gin
1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz Fresh lime juice
1 egg white
1 oz heavy cream
2 teaspoons confectioner's sugar
4 dashes orange flower water
Club Soda

In a shaker add first 7 ingredients. Perform the "dry shake" (at least 30 seconds). After the "dry shake" fill the shaker full of ice and perform the "wet shake". Shake like you have never shook before and then strain the drink into a glass (no ice).  Then gently stir the drink and top off with a touch of club soda. The only "garnish" is a straw. The drink should be thick enough so that the straw will stand straight up in the middle of the glass.

Comments

[Connie P]

Sounds yummy! I'll have to try making this drink over Labor Day weekend.

[JulietteBRANCH]

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