Ramos Gin Fizz
It nearly killed me, but this week we have the Ramos Gin Fizz!
This is an absolute New Orleans classic, first created by Henry Ramos in 1888 and needing a small army of staff to pull together. I am so glad I tried it, this one will definitely impress your friends!
2 oz Gin
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ Oz Lime Juice
¾ oz Sugar Syrup
¾ oz Heavy Cream
2 dashes Orange Blossom Water
1 Egg White
Chilled Soda Water
Shake everything (except the soda water) together with lots of ice, if you have big chunky ice all the better as it helps emulsify everything together.
Now the fun part, shake, shake for as long as you can stand and then shake some more. I did 5 minutes before my arms gave up. You then want to strain your drink back into the other half of your tin and shake some more without the ice. This second dry shake really helps to foam everything up, this shake needed 2-3 minutes.
Once everything is mixed take your shaker in one hand and your soda in the other (it may help if your soda is in something with a spout).
From a height pour both liquids together into a highball, you want the two streams to combine on the way down, pour until you have used about 2/3 of your cocktail and stop.
Put your glass in the fridge for 2-3 minutes to rest. During the rest the drink will separate resulting in a thick foamy head on top.
Take your drink out and use a straw to poke a hole straight through the centre of the foam, then slowly pour in the remainder of your cocktail. All being well the foam will be thick enough to rise up above the rim of the glass, try to pour as straight as you can so the rise goes straight up, otherwise it can go a bit wobbly off to the side.
If your feeling particularly brave you could add a bit more soda water and go for a bigger rise but you risk disaster!
The drink itself is great, it’s sharp and citrusy, rounded off with the cream and sugar & slightly perfumed from the orange blossom, it just works!
There are numerous how to videos on line if you want a more in depth guide, we would love to see your pics of this one!
Ps, apologies for the dreadful picture, I was terrified of moving it!
