South Side Fizz

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (24 ratings)

Serve in a Fizz or Highball (8oz to 10oz)

Ingredients:
7 fresh Mint leaves
2 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
0.42 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
13 oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
12 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
2 12 oz Thomas Henry Soda Water
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Fizz or Highball (8oz to 10oz) glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of mint sprigs.
  3. SHAKE first 5 ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass. (No ice in the glass.)
  5. TOP with soda and briefly stir.
  6. Garnish with mint sprigs bouquet.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10

Review:

A minty Collins.

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History:

Bar legend says the Southside (or South Side) was created during Prohibition, either at a New York City speakeasy called Jack & Charlie's, or at Manhattan's Stork Club, or by Chicago's Southside mobsters to make their bootleg liquor more palatable, while on the other side of town hoodlums enjoyed the Northside (gin and ginger ale).

The truth is more mundane and the Southside evolved from the Mint Julep at Snedecor's Tavern, Long Island in the 1890s when the style of drink known as a Fizz was at the height of its popularity. The club later became the Southside Sportsman's Club. This cocktail is also closely associated with New York's Twenty-One Club.

The South Side Fizz features in Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks but over the decades has morphed into the South Side Rickey served over cracked ice and more recently to the Southside served straight-up without soda.

SOUTH SIDE FIZZ
Made same a Gin Fizz, adding fresh mint leaves
........
GIN FIZZ
Juice of ½ Lime
Juice ½ Lemon
1 tablespoon Powdered Sugar
1 drink Dry Gin
Shake will in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain into fizz glass, fill up with carbonated or any sparkling water desired.

Hugo R. Ensslin, Recipes for Mixed Drinks Second Edition, 1917 (we don't have access to the 1916 1st edition)

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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8th June at 23:08
Plymouth Gin, mint fresh from my garden, and homemade simple syrup.
I chilled both the soda water and the glasses in the freezer beforehand.
Great summer drink!