Gin Fizz

The History of the Gin Fizz

The first printed recipe for a Gin Fizz appeared in the 1876 edition of The Bar-tenders Guide by Jerry Thomas. It appeared in that edition as a recipe included in the updated edition’s appendix, as noted by cocktail historian David Wondrich. The Gin Fizz is basically the frothy, bubbly, protein-packed cousin to the Tom Collins, which combines gin, lemon, sugar and soda.

Within a few years of the Gin Fizz being included in Thomas’ updated book, the drink became immensely popular. Often as a mellow end-of-the-night send-off. In time, an egg yolk was added to the recipe to create the Golden Fizz, and an egg white included to launch the Silver Fizz.

Fizzes enjoyed particular popularity stateside during the first few decades of the 20th century, up until the encroachment of Prohibition. The most famous Gin Fizz variation of all became the Ramos Gin Fizz, which is characterized by its inclusion of heavy cream and orange flower water. Invented in New Orleans, and still a popular cocktail in some parts of the city, it’s a luxurious take on the original Gin Fizz. There’s also the Sloe Gin Fizz, a riff that sports tart, berry-flavored sloe gin and often skips the egg white.

Why the Gin Fizz Works

By all means, dabble with any and all fizzes. But you may appreciate the genre’s siblings more after tasting the original. To start there, with the classic Gin Fizz, begin with a good gin. The gin, as the only spirit in the cocktail, provides the base that the rest of the ingredients stand on. So now’s not the time to skimp on quality. A London Dry gin will add bracing botanical notes of juniper and the like against the tart citrus and creamy egg, while a modern-style gin with softer, more floral notes will produce an equally delicious—albeit different—version.

If you want a thicker drink with a sturdy head, you will want to dry-shake the cocktail first. That means to shake it without ice to help the liquid ingredients merge with the egg white. If you’re going to take the dry-shake route, remember that a good dry-shake requires at least 15 seconds of shaking to properly meld the ingredients. Don’t cut corners here, if froth is your goal. Then, once you have accomplished your wrist workout and the clock has crept past 15 seconds, shake again with ice until everything’s cold, and strain the contents into your glass for a gorgeous layered look.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 3/4 ounce simple syrup
• 1 egg white (about 1/2 ounce)
• Club soda, to top (about 1 ounce)

Steps

1. Add the gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white to a shaker and vigorously dry-shake (without ice) for about 15 seconds.
2. Add 3 or 4 ice cubes and shake vigorously until well-chilled.
3. Double-strain into a chilled Collins glass and top with club soda.