Old School brunch cocktail

Back in the olden days, my favorite brunch cocktail was a Ramos Fizz. When I was brainstorming ideas for Easter brunch, this truly delicious cocktail came to mind. The Ramos Fizz was invented in New Orleans by Henry Ramos at his bar the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, way back in 1888. You could say the Ramos Fizz  is an authentic antique.

Hand shaken forever

The trick to making an original Ramos Fizz is prolonged and vigorous shaking by hand. The more you shake the better the fizz. Some recipes call for shaking for a minute, others two minutes, but to make a great fizz you really have to shake it and shake it some more. Some sources say the original recipe called for hand shaking a fizz for 12 minutes! In fact, legend has it that back in the day at the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, they had as many as 32 bar backs all lined up shaking fizz's and passing them back and forth to keep the shaking going.

Or...if you aren't feeling up to the fizz work out, you can whip one up in a blender. It works and you can make more than one cocktail at a time.

Click to download our free e-cookbook: 15 Recipes To Make You Look Like A Star

Raw egg whites

Raw egg whites are essential to a fizz. If you are wary of using raw eggs, you can use powdered eggs, or pasteurized eggs. Pasteurized eggs have been heated to specific FDA standards to reduce the number of pathogens in the eggs. Look for the red 'P" stamped on the egg.

Orange flower water is essential

An essential ingredient for a Ramos Fizz is orange flower water, which is made from distilled bitter orange blossoms. In the old days you could buy orange flower water  at the grocery store, or at a reasonably well-stocked liquor store. When I decided to publish a Ramos Fizz recipe I looked high and low for orange flower water, and even called several restaurants looking for it. Weirdly, no one had it, and most of the people I talked to didn't even know what it was. I finally ordered orange flower water on Amazon, and you can too by clicking here. Alternatively, orange flower water can be purchased at many Middle Eastern stores, as it is used in Middle Eastern and North African dishes.

Gin

Many of the recipes I have seen call out London Dry gin, but I like the floral notes that Hendrick's gin gives this old school cocktail. 

Thank you to Nancy Greene for her beautiful photography in Puamana, Maui.

Ramos gin fizz

Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Ramos Gin Fizz is a classic old-school hand-shaken cocktail, that takes a little effort to find the ingredients, but the effort is well worth it. Or you can cheat and use a blender.

• Author: Something New For Dinner
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 cocktail 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 pasteurized egg white,
• 3 drops orange flower water
• 1/2 ounce cream
• 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• Ice cubes
• Splash of soda water
• 1 strawberry or a lime wheel
• Grating of fresh nutmeg (optional)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. If you are shaking by hand, put gin, egg white, orange flower water, cream, lemon juice, lime juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Cover the shaker and work it for about a minute. Add 4-5 ice cubes and continue shaking until you can’t stand it any more. Use a buddy system and pass the shaker back and forth to a friend to get a really great shake. Strain drink into a chilled cocktail glass. Pour a little soda water into the shaker to dislodge any remaining foam and pour into the top of the fizz. Use a spoon to get all of the foam.
2. If you are using a blender, and you probably are, put gin, egg white, orange flower water, cream, lemon juice, lime juice and simple syrup in a blender and whirl on high for 30 seconds. Add about 4 cubes of ice and continue on high for at least a minute, or until you get a good foam going. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Pour a splash of soda water back into the blender to dislodge any remaining foam and pour into the top of the fizz. Use a spoon to get all of the foam.
3. Slice a strawberry or lime wheel part way to garnish the rim of the glass. Note: Some recipes call for garnishing with nutmeg, but I prefer a fresh piece of fruit.