Ramos Gin Fizz

Name: Ramos Gin Fizz
Yield: makes 1 drink
Ingredients: 1 ounce club soda; 1 3/4 ounces Martin Miller’s Westbourne Strength 100-proof gin; 1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice; 3/4 ounce simple syrup (page 154); 5 drops orange blossom water; 1 egg white; 3/4 ounce heavy cream

January 24, 2012

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle

This frothy and very yummy long drink was invented in 1888 by Henry C. Ramos, bartender at Meyer’s Restaurant in New Orleans. Because the cocktail requires a lot of shaking, the bar used to hire so-called “shaker boys,” who would just shake one cocktail after another in times of heavy business. The Ramos Gin Fizz is a full-blown classic nowadays and is ordered regularly all the time, but it was intended to be enjoyed as a pick-me-up or an eye-opener. Meaning—in the morning. Shocking, isn’t it, how our forefathers used to drink? The key ingredient is the orange blossom water; just those few drops give the cocktail its definitive character. Widely popularized before, during, and after Prohibition at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, it has spawned countless variations—and it’s still enjoyed on porches across the South as the sun is setting.

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