devotees say it takes 12 minutes to shake, but most agree 3-4 is enough

July 10, 2020 1:21 PM

A "fizz" is a mixed drink variation on the older sours family of cocktail. Its defining features are an acidic juice (such as lemon or lime) and carbonated water. There are a few variations on this recipe: Gin fizz, Sloe gin fizz (purple fizz). Here's a bit more about the history of the Ramos gin fizz, and here's how to make one.

Simple variations on the gin fizz are

• Silver fizz – addition of egg white
• Golden fizz – addition of egg yolk
• Royal fizz – addition of whole egg
• Diamond fizz – sparkling wine instead of carbonated water, more commonly known as a "French 75".
• Green fizz – addition of a dash of green crème de menthe

Less common gin fizzes

Japanese gin fizz – a standard gin fizz with a shot of lychee liqueur added
• Meyer lemon fizz – uses the sweeter Meyer lemon instead of normal lemon, and adds orange juice
• New Orleans "fiss" - 75% dry gin, 25% Creme Yvette, 1 egg white, 1/2 tsp. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. cream, juice each of 1/2 of an orange, lime, & lemon[8]
• Sour melon fizz – gin, lime juice, midori and ginger ale
• Strawberry gin fizz – gin, St. Germain liqueur, strawberries, club soda, mint; or gin, lime juice, sparkling water, strawberries, mint sprigs

Non-gin fizzes

Buck's fizz (and variant mimosaIBA) – champagne, orange juice, sometimes grenadine
• Chicago fizz – rum, port wine, lemon juice, sugar, and egg white
• Manhattan cooler – whisky (Scotch), lemon juice, sugar, and lemon-lime soda
• Pink Fizz (AKA May Blossom Fizz) - Swedish punsch, lemon juice, grenadine, soda water
• Morning Glory fizz - whisky (Scotch), absinthe, lemon juice, one egg white, sugar, soda water
• Whiskey fizz – whiskey (American blend), lemon juice, sugar, and lemon-lime soda
• Mojito - white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and mint.

• This classic cocktail is also an arm workout — if you want one [Washington Post][$]

“That shopping list makes it fussy enough, but its reputation is due more to the technique used to combine those ingredients: Various historical accounts suggest that, to achieve the drink’s silken texture and high-top fade of foam, bartenders shook it for north of 10 minutes. At Ramos’s establishment, its creation employed a line of men, each shaking the drink until he tired and passed it on to the next. Arthur , describing the scene: “The corps of busy shaker boys behind the bar was one of the sights of the town during Carnival, and in the 1915 Mardi Gras, 35 shaker boys nearly shook their arms off but were still unable to keep up with the demand.” This anecdote strikes me as a great example of early bar myth-building — the pre-Prohibition equivalent of drinks that change color or have an elaborate scaffolding of garniture on top. In an era when you couldn’t lure customers in with cocktail eye candy on Instagram, what better way to draw crowds than with a drink that would send customers out talking about the show before the sip?”

posted by Fizz (52 comments total)

Beef fizz - addition of condensed beef broth.
posted by KChasm at 1:25 PM on July 10, 2020 [6 favorites]

> posted by Fizz

eponysterical..

And I presume that if you drink enough of them you get a Fizz Buzz.
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:28 PM on July 10, 2020 [14 favorites]

i see what you did here and I approve
posted by cortex at 1:28 PM on July 10, 2020 [11 favorites]

Now I want one.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:29 PM on July 10, 2020

And I presume that if you drink enough of them you get a Fizz Buzz.

I made one last night, and I was a bit buzzed, so yes.
posted by Fizz at 1:30 PM on July 10, 2020 [9 favorites]

We have been making a lot of cocktails since the pandemic started, including a variety of gin and whiskey fizzes. Highly recommended, would drink again. (In fact, I may go make one now...)
posted by a device for making your enemy change his mind at 1:38 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

hey fizz awesome post don't give any ideas to user 1412 tho
posted by lalochezia at 1:49 PM on July 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

My paternal grandmother passed down a fizz variation she called a “bullfrog” (it’s not a bullfrog). It’s since become sort of the family cocktail.

Dry gin, simple syrup, lots of fresh squeezed lime juice, soda, cucumber. Served on the rocks in a tall glass.
posted by thivaia at 1:49 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Taking the pizz, Fizz?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:49 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

One of my favorites is a southside fizz, which is gin, simple, lemon juice and then mint that you shake together then top with club soda. The mint is really nice in the drink.
posted by Carillon at 1:51 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Pour ingredients into a whipped cream dispenser. Load a nitrous oxide charge. Dispense. Enjoy.
posted by hal9k at 1:52 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm... confused by the idea of drinking egg whites. Is that good? What does it do to the drink?

But that southside fizz sounds awesome, I may make one of those tonight since I happen to have a little fresh mint around!
posted by JDHarper at 1:56 PM on July 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

It's said that Airline Highway, an important pre-Interstate route between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, was a pet project of Huey Long's because it reduced his travel time to the Sazerac Bar. (Probably just a fun story, but it's Huey Long, so all bets are off.)
posted by savetheclocktower at 1:59 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Wait, I've just been putting ice, lime juice, vodka and seltzer in a solo cup - was I actually making a respectable, if basic, cocktail or just being a regular drunkard?
posted by mrgoat at 2:00 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

It's about drinking beaten, aerated egg whites.
Makes your booze shaken up cold and frothy; takes it from lemon syrup to like a liquid lemon meringue.
posted by bartleby at 2:03 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm... confused by the idea of drinking egg whites. Is that good? What does it do to the drink?

This is what I've found via Mental Floss: Why Do Bartenders Use Egg Whites In Cocktails?

Because it makes the cocktail so much better! Adding eggs to shaken drinks is a tradition that dates back more than a century. Besides novelty, the egg white gives your cocktail a rich, creamy texture and a beautiful foamy cap. Unpasteurized egg whites are basically odorless and tasteless, so their contribution is almost entirely textural. Just as in a mousse or meringue, drinks that call for an egg white also include citrus juice and some sort of sugar syrup along with the liquor and egg. Agitating this mixture creates luxurious foam. While this element solidifies in mousse or meringue, the foam remains somewhat liquefied in cocktails because of the additional ingredient—the liquor.
[...]
According to the CDC, salmonella can enter an egg either through pores in the shell or during development by an infected hen. Luckily, the bacteria count in most eggs laid by previously infected hens falls well short of the threshold for causing illness.

Fresh eggs, from the fridge, you'll probably not run into any issues. I mean, there's always a small percentage chance of getting sick, but it's not too common.
posted by Fizz at 2:05 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm... confused by the idea of drinking egg whites. Is that good? What does it do to the drink?

It does wonders for frothing a drink but in my opinion, no, it’s not good. I find the mouthfeel awful.
posted by obfuscation at 2:11 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Lime juice (sweetened with sugar) and vodka shaken with ice to make it super cold then straining the ice out as you pour it into a martini glass is a Vodka Gimlet. (Gin makes it a regular Gimlet) Adding back ice, and seltzer...I dunno, a Gimlet spritzer on the rocks? A geschpritzer?
But now I want one with egg whites, and maybe a sprig of mint, for some kind of Key Lime Pie thing.
posted by bartleby at 2:18 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

It does wonders for frothing a drink but in my opinion, no, it’s not good. I find the mouthfeel awful.

Far from an expert but I've read on various blogs, videos, etc. That the 'reverse shake' makes for a better texture and consistency. Not sure if you've tried that. If not, it might be worth an experiment.

“A reverse dry shake starts by shaking a cocktail’s ingredients over ice. The drink is then strained and the ice discarded so that the liquid can be re-shaken, without ice (the “dry” step, also called the “mime shake”), after which it’s strained again into a glass. Note the key distinction: The telltale white lather topping sours and fizzes is built up after the “wet” shake (over ice), rather than before.”

posted by Fizz at 2:27 PM on July 10, 2020

One thing that really helps when using egg white I've found is to use half a white. Particularly if you're using jumbo eggs, using a whole white for a drink can really bring in some taste and mouthfeel issues. By splitting that in half (or using a medium/large egg instead I suppose) I've been able to get better results.
posted by Carillon at 2:38 PM on July 10, 2020

The cute gin fizz guy is clearly already tipsy and it's a delight.
posted by Beardman at 2:40 PM on July 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

Am I bad if I make one using a counter-top aerator?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 2:55 PM on July 10, 2020

You need to use good eggs and dry shake, but hell yes does egg white add an amazing texture to a cocktail, particularly anything with the right balance of sweet, tart, and bitter. I'm a big fan of flips and fizzes, and although it's not really a summer drink, the filibuster makes a steady rotation around our place.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:56 PM on July 10, 2020

Am I bad if I make one using a counter-top aerator?

Only if you're squeezing the citrus by hand.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:58 PM on July 10, 2020

Finished work for the week in...53 mins...Feels like gin for some reason.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 3:07 PM on July 10, 2020

Fizz: I’ve never found wet shaking first to do much of anything except disappoint me, for what this bartender’s opinion is worth. I’ve definitely done whole shifts giving it a whirl and not seen any difference.
posted by hototogisu at 3:09 PM on July 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

Golden fizz – addition of egg yolk

Golden Fizz – addition of Johnny Wallflower
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:10 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

Also, I have somehow run out of gin. What kind of a monster does that?
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:11 PM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

Inspired by the post, I made my first one tonight. Seems like the foam is breaking quickly, I wonder if I didn't shake it enough. Oh noes, I'll have to try another. Still tasty, though.
posted by mollweide at 3:43 PM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

Ramos went so far as to form an assembly line out of his employees, referred to as “shaker boys.” As Pearce notes, each one would shake the cocktail for a minute before passing it down to the next employee, to preserve their stamina in time for the next order.
…
When Congress passed the Volstead Act in 1919, enabling the enforcement of Prohibition, Ramos -- ever the law-abiding citizen -- quickly shuttered his bar and went into the paint-mixing business.

Those poor shaker boys.

We have to shake what now?
posted by zamboni at 4:00 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

Fizzes were amongst a whole host of classic cocktails and concoctions that I learned in bartending school five decades ago. I spent almost three decades in bar and restaurant and can't recall ever making a single fizz. But we always had a little blue bottle of orange flower water handy, just in case. Alternatively, I got tons of mileage out of whiskey flips. Instant "eggnog" on-demand during the holidays...
posted by jim in austin at 4:15 PM on July 10, 2020

Ramos -- ever the law-abiding citizen -- quickly shuttered his bar and went into the paint-mixing business.

Yeah, give me a gallon of... uh... the "bathtub gin blue" in semi-gloss.
posted by GuyZero at 4:39 PM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

Golden Fizz – addition of Johnny Wallflower

Then add some Galliano for a Johnny Wallbanger
posted by ActingTheGoat at 4:43 PM on July 10, 2020 [5 favorites]

Egg white/albumen is the traditional way to get the whip to stand up, but aquafaba, the water straight out of a can of chickpeas works just as well. Nice vegan option for fizzes.
posted by bonehead at 5:26 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

Q: How do you make a Djinn fizz?
A: Drop him in acid.
posted by Ickster at 5:33 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

Well I just made a gin fizz and it was delightful, thank you for the suggestive post!
posted by ActingTheGoat at 6:53 PM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

OMG: after close to four months of unemployment, facing the prospect of my profession (bartending) facing generational effacement, reading the wikipedia piece on on the Fizz quoted at the start of this post is kind of wrecking me.

A Fizz, as originally conceived, is essentially a slammer: a sour (composed of a spirit, an acid and a sweetener) shaken over ice, poured w/o straining into a short glass (without ice), topped with cold carbonated water, intended to be consumed immediately and in its entirely in one go. It is NOT a Collins served with soda water over ice or any variation thereof. And while I have plenty of appreciation of a Collins topped w/ soda or Champagne, a Fizz is it's own special animal. This is something I learned from cocktail historian David Wondrich. While there are many interesting drinks modeled after the Fizz they are NOT what a 19th century bar patron, looking to experience the novely of carbonated water (AKA soda or seltzer) would expect to be served to them upon ordering a Fizz.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 7:20 PM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'd rather have a gin fizz than a Finn...well, I'll see myself out.
posted by Earthtopus at 7:23 PM on July 10, 2020 [5 favorites]

Various historical accounts suggest that, to achieve the drink’s silken texture and high-top fade of foam, bartenders shook it for north of 10 minutes.

So is this done mechanically now or are there still minutes of shaking involved each time?
posted by Mitheral at 8:01 PM on July 10, 2020

We put our faith in Beef Fizz Drink
posted by Arctic Circle at 8:28 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Update: the Southside fizz is good
posted by JDHarper at 8:30 PM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

No tourist to San Francisco should miss the brunch at the Cliff House and their Ramos Fizz. If it's still there...
posted by shnarg at 9:09 PM on July 10, 2020

And me here drinking a plain old rye lime rickey. Time for some egg whites!
posted by gingerbeer at 11:07 PM on July 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

One of my favorite fizz adjacent drinks is also a gin rickey gingerbeer! Apparently you're closer to the original than I usually am, it was whisky not gin, named after a lobbyist. What I love about them is it's just liquor, half a lime, ice, and seltzer, on a really hot day I find it as good as AC in cooling down.
posted by Carillon at 11:58 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ramos Fizz is our traditional Easter brunch cocktail.

I think this is different from the "reverse shake" described above, but I was taught the way to make a Pisco Sour, which has egg white but is not a fizz, is to thouroughly shake all the wet ingredients with the egg but without ice, to get it completely emulsified and "cooked" by the citrus, then to add ice and re-shake. It produces a very smooth durable foam topping.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 8:44 AM on July 11, 2020

Grumpy bartender tips on the Ramos Fizz:

1- Ordering one effectively causes the bartender to stop everything else they are doing for at least five minutes if it's going to come out right.

2- If the bar is busy, the bartender will probably wind up crushed by orders from other guests that got backed up while the Ramos was being made, AKA 'weeded.'

3- So, understandably, most bartenders loathe making them, even though they are delicious.

4- OK, fine, the Ramos is on the cocktail list, order one. One. Not a second or a third.

3- If it's not on the list consider carefully whether to order it at all, because you might wind up with a really shitty version.

Also there is a odd effect that happens when you send any egg white drink out from the bar to a guest at the table. When other guests see the drink and its lovely white froth suddenly they all want one too! It's understandable. But the resulting onslaught of tickets for said drink will drive the gal or guy at the service well insane. I recall clearly that after making several rounds of four or even six whiskey sours at a time, the bartender in the service well declared to the servers: "The Whiskey Sour machine is broken!"

God, I miss bartending so much. Fucking Covid. I gotta go have a good cry now.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 9:43 AM on July 11, 2020 [9 favorites]

According to Wikipedia, Henry C. Ramos had a raft of people just dedicated to shaking the drink: Before Prohibition, the drink's popularity and exceptionally long 12-minute mixing time[6] had over 20 bartenders working at the Imperial at once making nothing but the Ramos gin fizz - and still struggling to keep up with demand. During the carnival of 1915, 32 staff members were on at once, just to shake the drink.

Imagine what that would have been like. And all those barbacks skipping leg day.
posted by bonehead at 10:02 AM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

Then add some Galliano for a Johnny Wallbanger

Galliano and sloe gin were in any well-stocked bar in the 1970s; otherwise you couldn’t make a long slow comfortable screw up against a wall.
posted by TedW at 3:49 AM on July 12, 2020

I tend to drink (local distiller) Sipsmith's sloe gin, which tends to be beautifully mellow. So I probably wasn't surprised at their characterisation of it as harsh and difficult, but the stuff I get is heavenly to sip neat.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 3:33 PM on July 13, 2020

No blender?
posted by amanda at 4:57 PM on July 13, 2020

Blenders produce too much shear in the liquid and consequently bubble sizes that are too small to get a satisfying foam. You want a good shake, but not too hard a shake for the white to make a nice foam. Overbeat eggs and, as with meringues, the foam on the fizz will become brittle, shatter and collapse.

You really want something like this if you're automating. These simulate wrist shake and twist actions too. But they're $10k a unit.
posted by bonehead at 9:25 AM on July 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

It seems like one of the shakers used in bubble tea stores might be worth trying. And they're a lot less (this one is only $1300).

OTOH, having something that sounds like a paint mixer chugging away at the end of the bar might be detrimental to the ambiance...
posted by Lexica at 11:24 AM on July 14, 2020 [1 favorite]