Let's celebrate the best of New Orlean's rich cocktail history with this classic Ramos gin fizz! With its frothy, creamy topping and citrus, floral notes, this gin cocktail favorite makes one refreshing sipper with an impressive presentation. After one sip, you'll bring a little piece of the Big Easy right to your own home.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Everyone loves a classic: The Ramos gin fizz is a classic for a reason. A classic cocktail never goes out of style, and it’s perfect for any occasion. While I love having plenty of unique drinks on hand for entertaining, it's helpful to have those classic cocktail recipes ready in your back pocket.
Ultra refreshing: This New Orleans fizz is absolutely delicious with its delicate citrus and floral notes, and it goes down oh-so easily. Keeping it simple also allows the gin to shine on its own.
Turn into an interactive experience: As we'll detail in the step-by-step instructions, the classic gin fizz requires lots of shaking, and it's the perfect opportunity to get your guests involved in mixing, making for one memorable experience.
Easily adaptable to other flavor variations: Who doesn't love a classic cocktail with a twist? You can make plenty of gin fizz variations to celebrate the season’s best flavors and add a lively touch to an evening. Think a blood orange gin fizz, strawberry-rhubarb gin fizz and cucumber-lavender gin fizz. There’s something extra fun about sitting down with a seasonal cocktail, and those additional flavors all nicely complement the gin.
Ingredients
Before we start playing bartender, let’s gather our Ramos gin fizz ingredients.
Gin: Your favorite London dry gin will do the trick, which doesn't necessarily have to come from London. I typically use Bombay Sapphire or Colorado Fog, a citrus-forward gin from Mystic Mountain, a local distillery in the Denver area.
If you have a favorite London-style gin from a distillery in your neighborhood, feel free to use that. I'm always a big advocate of supporting your local distilleries when possible. These days, so many small, local distilleries are making some great liquors.
Egg white: If you’ve never made a cocktail with egg white, this might sound funny, but it gives us that classic frothy topping.
Lemon and lime juices: Skip the bottled juice. We use freshly squeezed juice for the best flavor. Bottled juice isn't nearly as bright -- you'll have a much better cocktail if you take the few seconds required to squeeze a lemon and lime.
Orange blossom water: You’ll love the subtle floral notes this adds. If you can’t find it in the store, you can always pick it up on Amazon.
Step-by-Step Instructions
I'm ready for a drink, so let's start mixing.
Step 1: We begin by adding our gin, lemon and lime juices, egg white, heavy cream, orange blossom water and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker or mason jar. We put on the top and shake it vigorously for 30 seconds (photo 1).
At this point, we're not including ice. We call this a dry shake. First shaking without ice gives us an even frothier topping.
Step 2: We take off the top, add a handful of ice (photo 2). You didn't think we'd have a room-temperature cocktail, did you?
Step 3: Now we give it another shake to help the egg white make that beloved froth (photo 3). Get ready because this is a long shake -- we keep going until we can no longer hear ice clink against the shaker. I find that takes about two minutes and results in plenty of creamy, frothy goodness.
Step 4: Now we pour our New Orleans gin fizz into a chilled Collins glass (photo 4) and gently stir in a splash of club soda (photo 5).
For an even more impressive finish, we garnish with a lemon twist. Now toast to a wonderful time and sip away!
Recipe FAQs
With classic cocktails, I always think it's fun to know a little history. In the late 1800s, Henry C. Ramos created this gin cocktail at his bar, the Imperial Cabinet Saloon. Originally, he called it the New Orleans fizz, so if you happen to see that name, just know the two are interchangeable.
Legend has it that the original recipe called for 12 minutes of shaking. Don't worry. No one has time for that. We're too thirsty.
That said, this drink does require a long shake. Apparently, Ramos used to get the crowd involved and had his patrons help with the shaking. They would pass the shaker down and all take a turn shaking, which I find can be a fun, interactive way to get your friends involved while also giving your arm a break from all that shaking.
Raw egg whites come with risk, but it’s minimal. To stay safe, make sure your eggs have been inspected and keep them in the original container in the back of your refrigerator where it's the coldest. For an extra safety precaution, pasteurized eggs are a good option, and do not use the egg if it has any cracks.
Still, you can skip the egg white if you're not comfortable. You won't get the frothy topping, which I love, and it won't be a traditional gin fizz, but you'll still have a tasty cocktail on your hands.
Expert Tips And FAQs
- While you can make a gin fizz with a cocktail shaker, you might actually prefer a mason jar with a solid lid. Because of the dry shake with no ice, it can be tricky to get the proper seal, which can make shaking messy. It's the cold ice that actually helps seal your cocktail shaker. But a mason jar with a solid lid alleviates the problem and shakes a cocktail just as well.
- I recommend serving in a chilled glass. To chill a cocktail glass, place it in the freezer for at least 30 minute or fill the glass with ice and cold water before making the gin fizz. Toss the water and ice when you’re ready to serve.
- Pick a lemon and lime that have some give when you press them. If they’re rock hard, they’re dried out.
- Before juicing the lemon and lime, firmly roll them on the counter several times to help release the juice.
Perfect Pairing
If we’re sipping on a classic New Orleans cocktail, it only makes sense to enjoy a nice Cajun or Creole meal with it, right? Fortunately, I have a wonderful selection. Try my shrimp and crab gumbo, summer shrimp étouffée, chicken and sausage gumbo or Instant Pot red beans and rice. With the bright, citrusy lemon, I especially love the seafood dishes with this traditional Ramos gin fizz.
For a delicious cocktail that will transport you to New Orleans, I hope you try this Ramos gin fizz. You will love how easily this delicious sipper goes down.
Cheers!
Looking for More Gin Cocktails?
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📖 Recipe
Ramos Gin Fizz
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker or mason jar with solid lid
- Citrus juicer
- Jigger or small measuring cup
- Bar spoon
Ingredients
- 2 ounces London dry gin
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- ½ ounce heavy cream
- 2-3 drops orange blossom water
- 1 egg white
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice juiced
- Ice
- Splash of club soda
- Lemon twist optional, for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker or mason jar with a solid lid, add the gin, simple syrup, heavy cream, orange blossom water, egg white, lemon juice and lime juice. Put on the top and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
- Remove the top and add a handful of ice. Put the top back on and shake vigorously until you no longer hear the ice clink against the cocktail shaker, about two minutes.
- Pour into a chilled Collins glass. Add a splash of club soda and gently stir. Garnish with a lemon twist if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure you use a food-grade orange blossom water. If you don't have any on hand, you can leave it out, but it adds a nice citrusy, floral quality.
- While you can make a gin fizz with a cocktail shaker, you might actually prefer a mason jar with a solid lid. Because of the dry shake with no ice, it can be tricky to get the proper seal, which can make shaking messy. It's the cold ice that actually helps seal your cocktail shaker. But a mason jar with a solid lid alleviates the problem and shakes a cocktail just as well.
- I recommend serving in a chilled glass. To chill a cocktail glass, place it in the freezer for at least 30 minute or fill the glass with ice and cold water before making the gin fizz. Toss the water and ice when you’re ready to serve.
- Pick a lemon and lime that have some give when you press them. If they’re rock hard, they’re dried out.
- Before juicing the lemon and lime, firmly roll them on the counter several times to help release the juice.
- Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Safana says
Oooh, this sounds delicious! I’d love to try this! Thank you for the detailed pictures.
Genevieve says
I love how refreshing this drink is and how easy it is to make. Now I want to go visit New Orleans!
veenaazmanov says
This turned out just delicious. I really loved the citrus flavors and the gin combination with the creamy topping. Made for a perfect presentation and a special evening.
Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
The history behind this drink is almost as fun as the drink itself! Turned out delicious and refreshing.
Tara says
Such a fun cocktail for celebrating! The flavors sound fantastic and I absolutely love your gorgeous photos.
Erin Gierhart says
A gin fizz is the perfect summer drink and this twist makes it so fun!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
It really is so refreshing!
Tammy says
Oh this is so delightfully refreshing! I love the sound of this...a perfect cocktail to welcome spring with!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Absolutely!
Jacqueline Debono says
I've never had a Ramos gin fizz but definitely want to try it. Loved the bit of history. I can just imagine Ramos' bar customers taking it in turns to help shake their cocktails! Sounds like fun!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
It so is! I always love an interactive recipe.
Leslie says
I have been dreaming of the days when I can sit on my new back patio and enjoy recipes like this! Pure heaven!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
You and me both! I'm so ready for patio weather.
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
Oh hello beautiful! This drink looks amazing and I'm loving the "fizziness" of it! And the history lesson is so interesting! Definitely adding this to my summer line up!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
It will be perfect for summer patio sipping -- enjoy!
Kathryn says
I love the orange blossom water in this! I can't wait to try this and I bet this is even delicious without the alcohol since I'm pregnant. You have the BEST cocktail recipes!!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
First of all, congrats! What an exciting time for you. And thank you so much! I just love sharing cocktail recipes.
Beth says
I had no idea there is traditionally an egg white in this drink to make it frothy - how fascinating! And I'm glad to hear that the shaking can be less than 12 minutes, for sure.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Right? We need our drink a little faster! ?
HEATHER PERINE says
Loved learning the history of this drink! And I think it would be fun to bring back the tradition and have my friends help out with the shaking 🙂 Can't wait to try!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I think it'll be a fun evening for y'all!
Bernice Hill says
You are speaking my language here...I do love a Ramos Gin Fizz and I love Southern cocktails because they have interesting histories.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Right? I'm just a sucker for fun cocktail history. Cheers!
Marta says
I've never had a Ramos gin fizz and I live for the citrus of it all. It was so refreshing!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Isn't it?! I love it so much. Glad you enjoyed it as well!