Ramos Gin Fizz: The Ultimate Guide

Ramos Gin Fizz is a classic cocktail created by Henry Charles Ramos in New Orleans in 1888 by shaking gin with sugar, citrus, egg white, cream, orange flower water, vanilla and soda water, resulting in a frothy, rich, aromatic, sweet and sour tall drink with visually impressive souffle foam top.

The Ramos Gin Fizz is also known as Ramos Fizz, New Orleans Fizz or One-And-Only-One.

Flavor Profile

Ramos Gin Fizz tastes like a liquid lemon meringue pie with the sweet and tart taste from lemon, lime and sugar, enhanced by floral notes of orange blossom water, vanilla, and richness from cream, as well as smooth mouthfeel and effervescence created by the egg white combined with sparkling soda water.

Ramos Gin Fizz is a cross between a Gin Fizz cocktail and a milkshake. Because of its incredibly smooth and frothy consistency, it feels like drinking a cloud or a dream.

Recipe

Ramos Gin Fizz is made by shaking gin, lime and lemon juice, sugar syrup, egg white, cream, orange flower water and vanilla, in a two-step dry shake (first shake without ice, second with ice) or a reverse dry shake (first ice, then no ice). Top up with soda in a highball glass to build a foamy head.

Tools

• Shaker and/or blender
• Strainer
• Highball or Collins glass
• Citrus juicer (optional)
• Straw (optional)

Ingredients

A Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail is made from gin, lime and lemon juice, sugar syrup, cream, orange flower water, vanilla, soda water, and an egg white that can be substituted by vegan aquafaba.

• Gin: 1½ oz (45 ml)
• Lime juice, fresh: 1/2 oz (15 ml)
• Lemon juice, fresh: 1/2 oz (15 ml)
• Simple syrup (2 sugar to 1 water syrup): 1 oz (30 ml)
• Cream: 2 oz (60 ml)
• Egg white or aquafaba: 1 egg white; or 1 oz (30 ml) of aquafaba
• Orange blossom water: 3 dashes
• Vanilla extract: 2 drops
• Soda water (to taste)
• Ice (for shaking or blending)
• Citrus garnish, fresh or dehydrated (optional): 1 wedge, slice, quarter or half wheel, peel strip, twist or zest

Gin: What’s the Best Gin for Ramos Gin Fizz?

The best gin for a Ramos Gin Fizz is an Old Tom, as in the original recipe; any London Dry gin, especially if it has citrus notes like Plymouth or Tanqueray 10; or classics like Hendrick’s.  As the spirit does not dominate the cocktail, it will work with any good gin without an overpowering flavor.

The original version of a Ramos Gin Fizz was made with an Old Tom gin, which is a more sweet and less botanical style, which was popular at the time when the cocktail was invented.

Although almost any type of gin will work in a Ramos Gin Fizz, it should not have a flavor profile that is too complex, strong, floral, perfumed or is otherwise “trying too hard”. Similarly, it is unnecessary to use an expensive top-shelf brand because, unlike in other gin forward cocktail recipes, the spirit does not dominate this cocktail.

Gins with zesty and citrusy character, such as Plymouth or Tanqueray 10, best complement the other ingredients in a Ramos Gin Fizz. Nevertheless, any London Dry gin is a safe bet for a Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail, including Beefeater, Tanqueray, Bombay or Gordon’s. Alternatively, classic gin brands like Hendricks are also suitable for the cocktail.

Pro Tip: If you are using a sweeter gin variety, like the Old Tom style, you may want to decrease the amount of simple syrup used in the recipe.

Vegan Ramos Gin Fizz: No Egg, No Cream

For a vegan Ramos Gin Fizz, use aquafaba made from chickpeas or other pulses instead of an egg white, combined with coconut cream or other non-dairy cream alternative with a high fat content.

The aquafaba and coconut cream will usually not froth as well as the egg white and dairy cream. To rectify this, add cream of tartar into the mix. First, cool all of the ingredients (aquafaba, vegan cream, cream of tartar) in a fridge and then whip them together into a whipped cream until stiff peaks are formed. The rest of the cocktail can also be blended in a blender to achieve an even foamier result.

Cream

The original recipe called for rich milk or cream. Using heavy cream with a higher fat content creates a Ramos Gin Fizz with richer body and mouthfeel. However, single cream or half-and-half also work because the frothy consistency and foamy head of the cocktail come from the egg white and soda, as opposed to the dairy.

Orange Blossom Water

Orange flower water, also called orange blossom water, is a hydrosol made as a byproduct of a non-alcoholic distillation of orange flowers for their essential oils.

The orange blossom water in a Ramos Gin Fizz gives the cocktail its subtle floral aroma that masks the smell of egg whites. However, be careful not to add too much orange flower water into a Ramos Gin Fizz, otherwise the drink will smell and taste like a perfume.

Orange blossom water can be purchased in well-stocked liquor stores, middle-eastern specialty stores, specialty foods sections of some supermarkets, or online.

Orange flower water can be substituted in cocktails like the Ramos Gin Fizz by rose water, orange liqueur or orange flavor enhancements like orange extract and orange oil.

Vanilla

Since it is unclear whether vanilla was included in the original Ramos Gin Fizz recipe, it is optional to use vanilla in the cocktail. You can use vanilla extract, vanilla essence or vanilla syrup, in which case you may want to decrease the amount of the simple syrup used in the recipe so the drink is not overly sweet.

Sweetener

The original Ramos Gin Fizz recipe called for a one tablespoon of powdered superfine sugar. Nowadays, a sugar syrup, often referred to as simple syrup, is more common because it is easier to use and more precise to measure. To make simple syrup, just stir together equal parts sugar and water until the sugar dissolves.

Lemon & Lime

The original Ramos Gin Fizz recipe called for “one-half lime juice and one-half lemon juice”. You can get away with using only one type of citrus on its own, but if you are going into the trouble of making this complex cocktail, you might as well do it properly. If you do not have both on hand and are using just lemon juice, decrease the citrus to 0.75 oz. If using lime only, you can keep it at 1 oz.

Soda Water

The soda water in a Ramos Gin Fizz helps to create the characteristic frothy consistency and foamy head of the cocktail. Any bottled club soda will work in Ramos Gin Fizz, but homemade soda water made in an old-fashioned siphon or any of the modern soda makers like SodaStream will create the freshest sparkling water, usually with more carbonation than the bottled variety that remains effervescent for longer.

Interestingly, the original Ramos Gin Fizz recipe was shaken with the soda water included in the cocktail shaker “until there was not a bubble left”. So feel free to use any soda water that you have.

Ice

If you are going to use the Whip Shake cocktail shaking method, where the shaker only contains a small amount of ice and the drink is shaken until all of that ice completely dissolves, you will need to know the volume of your ice to control how much dilution goes into the cocktail. You want to chill the drink and whip it to produce foam, while avoiding excessive dilution.

The ice dilution of a Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail is usually between 45 and 60 milliliters, or 1½ – 2 fluid ounces. For example, this would be equal to 3-4 ice cubes at 15 ml or 1/2 oz each.

Instructions

Ramos Gin Fizz is made by shaking in a cocktail shaker or blending in a blender all ingredients except for soda water (gin, lime and lemon, sugar syrup, egg white, cream, orange flower water, vanilla) and then served in a highball glass without ice, topped up with the soda to form a foamy head.

The Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail contains egg whites, cream, citrus and soda water, which all need to be properly incorporated into the cocktail in order to achieve the desired result of a smooth mouthfeel and frothy consistency with a high foamy top that the drink is recognized for.

Ramos Gin Fizz is made by shaking or blending methods that better emulsify the ingredients like egg white and produce more foam than a standard shake: dry shake (no ice, ice), reverse dry shake (ice, no ice), whip shake (little ice), blend (ice), or blend shake (blend without ice, shake with ice).

The 5 best methods to make a Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail:

1. Dry Shake: First shake without ice and a second shake with ice.
2. Reverse Dry Shake: First shake with ice, ice strained out, and a second shake without ice.
3. Whip Shake: Shake with a small amount of ice until fully dissolved.
4. Blend: Blend in a blender with ice.
5. Blend and Shake: First blend without ice and then shake with ice.

Pro Tip: The blending techniques are particularly useful when using vegan alternatives like aquafaba and coconut cream because they do not foam as well as egg and dairy.

Which method is the best?

The most popular way to make a Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail is a Dry Shake method or an inverse Reverse Dry Shake, because they are believed to produce the best texture and the highest foamy head. The International Bar Association, IBA, recommends the Reverse Dry Shake technique for the Ramos Gin Fizz.

Dry Shake vs Reverse Dry Shake

The dry shake and reverse dry shake are two-step shaking methods used for frothy cocktails like Ramos Gin Fizz because they emulsify egg whites better than a standard one-step wet shake with ice that produces less foam as a result of the dilution from ice.

• Dry shake: First shake without ice, second shake with ice
• Reverse dry shake: First shake with ice, strain, second shake without ice

Some claim that the reverse dry shake is even better in creating foam than the dry shake.

Shake time

So how long should you shake a Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail? This is a highly debated topic in the bartending community.

Ramos Gin Fizz should be shaken for 2 to 12 minutes. The longer the shaking time, the smoother and frothier the cocktail will become. The shaking time can be shortened by partially shaking the drink without ice dilution, which better emulsifies and foams ingredients like egg whites.

Shaking methods that partially shake a cocktail without ice include a dry shake that shakes a drink twice, first without ice and then with ice; a reverse dry shake, which is the inverse of the dry shake; or a whip shake, which is a reverse dry shake but with less ice that is shaken until fully melted.

The IBA, International Bar Association, recommends the reverse dry shaking method, with a 2 minute wet shake, followed by a 1 minute hard dry shake.

The original Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail was shaken for 12 minutes by a crew of up to 30 bartenders who passed the shaker from one to another, not just for show but also because the frosty shaker becomes very cold to hold, even when wrapped in a cloth, and it would require a lot of muscle for one person to shake for 12 continuous minutes.

How to maximize the foam

The Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail is famous for its silky smooth, frothy texture and a high foam top.

Tips to maximize the frothiness of the Ramos Gin Fizz:

1. Chill ingredients: Chill the ingredients for the cocktail in a fridge before use.
2. Dry shake: Use the dry shake, the reverse dry shake, or other cocktail making technique that produces more foam than the standard shake used for most cocktails.
3. Long shake: Shake for up to 12 minutes. The longer the shake, the better the cocktail.
4. Serve neat: Strain the cocktail from a shaker or blender into a glass that is chilled but contains no ice.
5. Pour simultaneously: Slowly pour the strained cocktail and soda water into a glass at the same time. Slowly strain the cocktail from a shaker or a blender from a higher than normal height, while simultaneously pouring soda water into the glass with the other hand so that the cocktail and the soda form a single stream of liquid falling into the glass, until the liquid line reaches nearly to the top.
6. Set foam: Place the glass into a fridge, or ideally a freezer, for 1-5 minutes to let the foam set. Optionally, leave the glass to temper at room temperature for another 1-5 minutes.
7. Souffle: Once set, poke a small hole in the center of the foam top with a straw or a bar spoon and slowly pour soda water or what remains in the shaker into the center hole until the foam head rises like a souffle above the rim of the glass and resembles a fizzy milkshake.

Pro Tip: Be careful in the final top up with soda water. If you pour too much or too fast, the head will get heavy, rise over the side of the glass, and slide right down.

Presentation

Garnish

Ramos Gin Fizz does not need to be garnished because of its high frothy head. A straw may be placed in the middle of the foamy top. The optional garnishes for the cocktail include fresh or dehydrated citrus in the form of a twist, slice, quarter or half wheel, or some zest sprinkled atop.

The point of the straw being placed in the center of the frothy head is to demonstrate how thick the foam is. However, if your foam is not sufficiently dense to support the straw standing in the middle of the glass, you can just leave the straw on the side rim.

Some recipes also garnish the Ramos Gin Fizz with a mint sprig.

Glass

Ramos Gin Fizz is served in a Highball or Collins glass.

The Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail is served neat, without any ice in the glass.

History

Where was the Ramos Gin Fizz invented?

The Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail was invented in 1888 by Henry Ramos at his bar Meyer’s Table d’Hôtel Internationale in New Orleans.

Why is it called a Ramos fizz?

Ramos Gin Fizz, or Ramos Fizz, is named after its inventor, Henry Charles “Carl” Ramos, who created the cocktail in New Orleans in 1988. The cocktail was originally named “New Orleans Gin Fizz” and Henry Ramos called it “One And Only One”, but due to popularity it was soon referred to by his name.

When is the best time to drink Ramos Gin Fizz?

Ramos Gin Fizz is a refreshing long drink that is perfect for brunch or summer afternoons and evenings.

Gin Fizz vs Ramos Gin Fizz

What is the difference between a Gin Fizz and a Ramos Fizz?

A classic Gin Fizz cocktail is made from gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, soda water and an optional egg white. In addition, a Ramos Gin Fizz also contains cream, orange blossom water, lime juice and vanilla extract. This results in a creamier and frothier drink, with more aromatic floral and citrusy flavor notes.

Ramos Gin Fizz sits somewhere between a Gin Fizz and a milkshake.

The International Bar Association, IBA, recommends that the Gin Fizz cocktail is made without the egg white and only contains gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and soda water.

While the Ramos Gin Fizz is usually made with classic gins like the London Dry style, because it already gets its aroma from the orange flower water and vanilla essence, a Gin Fizz more often uses Old Tom and other flavorful or botanical gins to achieve a more nuanced taste profile.