Ramos Gin Fizz

The Ramos Gin Fizz is an iconic New Orleans cocktail combining gin, heavy cream, egg white, lemon and lime juices, orange flower water, vanilla extract, and soda water. 

The fluffy-topped cocktail was shaken to life at New Orleans’ Imperial Cabinet Saloon in 1888 by bartender and proprietor Henry Charles Ramos, known to his regulars as “Carl.” 

In the late 1800s, New Orleans emerged as a major tourist destination, benefiting Ramos’ saloon and his Fizz, packing the bar nightly with guests clamoring for the drink of the moment. 

“In 1900, the Kansas City Star anointed the Imperial Cabinet ‘the most famous Gin Fizz saloon in the world,’ and went on to add, ‘Ramos serves a Gin Fizz which is not equaled anywhere,’” writes cocktail historian David Wondrich in his 2007 book Imbibe!

Originally called a New Orleans Fizz, the cocktail saw instant success and became equally famous for its particularly labor-intensive preparation process. The inclusion of both egg white and cream, ingredients that are especially difficult to break down in a drink, requires a lot of shaking. 

By 1900, the Ramos Gin Fizz had become so popular that the Imperial Cabinet was going through 5,000 egg whites a week. Ramos employed a team of bartenders — six during the height of Mardi Gras — each assigned a dedicated “shaker boy” to lend some muscle to the task of meeting the Gin Fizz demands. Though it may have been for show, Ramos was a stickler for a well-shaken Fizz to achieve a silky smooth consistency and perfectly foamed top, and some accounts claim that the shaking of a single drink could go on for fifteen minutes. 

By 1915, Ramos moved to a larger bar and during Mardi Gras of that year he employed 35 men dedicated to shaking one Fizz at a time, theatrically lined up in a long row, each taking a turn and passing the shaker to the next bartender down the line once their arms were fatigued. 

Ramos called his star cocktail the “One and Only One.” A few years before his death, just as Prohibition hit, Ramos generously shared his beloved drink's exact ingredients and specs with the New Orleans Item-Tribune. By then, the New Orleans Fizz has become colloquially known to everyone as the Ramos Gin Fizz.

What makes the Ramos Gin Fizz work

Creamy, floral and with just the right amount of froth and fizz, the Ramos Gin Fizz is well worth the extra effort to make. 

Ramos’ original recipe called for Old Tom Gin — a sweeter style of gin popular in the 18th century, with a flavor profile somewhere between a London Dry style and a genever. The modern version of the Ramon Gin Fizz makes up for the slight difference in sweetness by increasing the amount of simple syrup to a full ounce. This sugar is balanced by a full ounce of citrus, which is split between lemon and lime juices, creating bright complexity while not allowing either to come across as overpowering. 

The rich, creamy mouthfeel comes from both the heavy cream and emulsified egg that, when shaken, provide a meringue-like consistency. Orange flower water is used in small amounts, and is often the ingredient that sets a bar-quality Ramos Gin Fizz apart. It lends a surprising floral quality, but be careful to use a light hand when adding this aromatic tincture. A little goes a long way.  

This recipe also calls for a few drops of vanilla extract, an addition some claim was Ramos’ secret ingredient. Others claim it was not in the original recipe, and it can be omitted if desired. However, it can help to create depth and complexity, contributing a roundness to the drink that helps to compensate for the drier profile of modern gin rather than Ramos' original pre-Prohibition choice of Old Tom gin. 

“Shake and shake and shake until there is not a bubble left but the drink is smooth and snowy white and of the consistency of good rich milk,” said Ramos in the New Orleans Item-Tribune.

Shaken over ice for up to a minute, the final mixture should have proper dilution and emulsification,  and be properly chilled, as the drink is strained into a Collins glass without ice. The frigid soda water helps to chill the drink further and extend the foamy top beyond the glass. Using soda water that's as cold as possible is key, as it helps to create the cocktail's signature milkshake-like foam.