Ramos Gin Fizz

This cocktail takes us way back to New Orleans in the 1880s, where Henry Charles Ramos created it in the Imperial Cabinet Saloon. The Ramos Gin Fizz was originally named The New Orleans Fizz. The creation has an incredible foam which rises for days if done correctly. The texture is soft and fluffy, resembling a thick whipped cream. This cocktail became such a success that the Imperial Saloon is noted to have employed over 20 bartenders just to keep up with demand.  

Not only was the cocktail such a success, it is one of your more time consuming cocktails to make. Many believe that in order to get the best result, it should be shaken for 7-12mins. You can imagine the stress behind a bar as 20 bartenders are frantically trying to shake their Ramos Fizz’s with a stack more placed on order. Some say that there was even a relay of ‘shaker boys’ for the shaker becomes quite cold when you begin to shake. 

The success of this cocktail led Ramos to open a second bar across the road from St.Charles Hotel in 1907. During the Mardi Gras Festival and Carnival exhausted ‘shaker boys’ could be seen behind the bar, as it was one of their busiest periods - but still they could not keep up with the demand. About 30 years later, The Fairmont purchased the rights to the Ramos Gin Fizz, trademarking the drink. The success did not stop there, the New Orleans Governor, Huey P.Long enjoyed the cocktail so much so that he hired a bartender from the Fairmont to train staff at the New Yorker Hotel just so he could have it whenever he visited New York.

How do you make a Ramos Gin Fizz? 

Tayport Distillery’s Ramos Gin Fizz is a modern take on the cocktail, keeping the traditional method in tack.

Ingredient

• 60 mls Wild Rose Gin
• 25 mls St Germain Liqueur
• 10 mls Lemon
• 10 mls Lime
• 15 mls Heavy Cream
• Egg White
• 2/3 Large Tempered Ice Cubes
• Soda Water 
• 2 Dashes of Rose Water

1. Add St Germain, Lemon, Lime, Gin, Cream into a dry (without ice).
2. Extract egg white from the egg, and add it to the shaker. 
3. All to sit for around 7 second to allow the lemon and lime natural citric acid mix with the egg white. 
4. Shake vigorously for around a minute.
5. Add the tempered ice to the tin and shake vigorously until the ice completely melts. You should be able to judge this from the ice not clicking in the tin anymore. This will help us whip our cream and egg white into a nice smooth foam. 
6. Because the ice is completely dissolved, you can pour straight into a tall highball glass without a strainer.
7. Pour half into the glass and partially fill with soda water and then add more of the cocktail mixture until you get a nice overflow as seen in the image.