Recipe: Shake Up Michael and Zara Madrusan’s Ramos Gin Fizz

First recorded in 1876, the gin fiz (initially spelled with only one ‘z’) is a light and fluffy citrus cocktail shaken with egg, topped with soda and intended for swift enjoyment. And while The Madrusan Cocktail Companion contains plenty of fizz iterations (among its whopping 2800-plus recipes), it’s the Ramos gin fizz – aka the New Orleans fizz – that most people associate with the cocktail style.

The drink’s inventor, Henry Charles Ramos began his career at 18 as a bartender in New Orleans. In 1887, Ramos took over the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, by which point he was widely regarded as one of the most trusted bar owners and operators in the Big Easy.

Sometime in the early 1890s, Ramos jazzed up a non-alcoholic cream lemonade that he became known for with gin and orange blossom water. To pull off its famously fluffy texture, Ramos called for a line of “shakermen”, who, together, shook the drink, sparkling water already added, one-by-one for a total of 12 minutes until the ice completely dissolved.

Today’s methods are less laborious, but the Madrusans still recommend an initial dry shake (without ice), followed by a second hard shake using one large dense ice block to do the Ramos justice.

Ramos gin fizz

Serves: 1

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

60ml gin

11ml lemon juice

11ml lime juice

22ml simple syrup

15ml house cream

2 dashes orange blossom water

1 egg white

30ml soda, to top

House cream

4 parts excellent-quality thick (double) cream

1 part full-cream (whole) milk

2 white sugar cubes, for whipping

Method

To make a batch of house cream, add the cream and milk to a clean squeeze bottle with the sugar cubes. Seal and shake the bottle 100 times (be sure to put your finger over the nozzle opening first). You will know when the cream has been sufficiently whipped when you can rest a bead of cream on your finger. Store in the fridge for up to three days. Shake again before each use.

To make the Ramos gin fizz, add all cocktail ingredients, except soda, to a shaker and dry shake. Add ice, shake again, then strain into a frozen footed Delmonico glass and top with soda simultaneously.

Garnish: lemon twist (discard)

Broadsheet Access will hold an exclusive Cocktail Masterclass with Michael and Zara Madrusan at Reed House on November 17. For more invites to events like this one, join Broadsheet Access today. It’s only $12 a month.

Images and text from The Madrusan Cocktail Companion by Michael and Zara Madrusan, photography by Mark Roper. Murdoch Books RRP $69.99