Join thousands of like-minded professionals and cocktail enthusiasts, receive our weekly newsletters and see pages produced by our community for fellow Discerning Drinkers.
I'd not made a cocktail with cream and egg white before, but I do love all things gin, so I thought I'd give this a try...and I'm so glad I did. It emulsified perfectly first try (I was not expecting it to go perfectly the first time lol), and it was just lovely. The foam has this lovely lemon-y scent, the drink itself is creamy and delicious. It tastes like a subtle combination of a lemon meringue and a key lime pie.
Mine had a couple of minor variations: I didn't have half n half, so I used half as much heavy cream (I had to eyeball it). And I accidentally overpoured the vanilla extract; I think it was maybe 1/4 tsp, but I'm not upset. I think it lends the drink a nice sweetness, and I think it's why it tastes so much like a summer dessert to me.
We won't and can't do the egg white thing...all of our eggs come from our own free-rangers. Undeterred, we substituted a good 10 dashes of Fee Foam and went with 50 rather than our normal 30 vigorous shakes, ending up with a lovely 2cm high 'souffle' above the glass rim. No sweat, but I guess we missed out on the 'mouth-feel'. btw make the final pour as close to the edge of the glass as you can and you won't create a sink-hole (don't they seem to be opening up everywhere these days?) in the middle of the glass.
An unbelievably delicious and smooth drink. Difford’s specs are perfect (however I use heavy/double cream instead of single cream). The original method is rather over-complicated. Definitely just a show for the times. I reverse dry shook it, then topped with soda till the glass edge. Let it sit for 1 min. Then top with more soda slowly and it makes a beautiful soufflé.
I got 2/3rd of the way making a Ramos tonight after my final shaking (I dry shake last, after a 40~g ice-fully-melted shake), only to realize I was out of soda water. There's no going back - so browsing my fridge for anything carbonated, I picked a can of Fever Tree Ginger Beer. And know what? Not bad! Makes sense it would taste alright - kind of a cross between a Gin Gin Mule, minus the mint? Maybe I'll use ginger syrup or muddle a touch of ginger next time? Salvaged all my shaking at least!
I have now twice added 10 ml of Triple sec and I think this drink gets even better. I have even tried the original at a world top-50 bar! I know it is a sacrilege to alter a classic drink like this. But the lemon/lime/orange water/vanilla-mix just loves triple sec in my opinion.
It's simple and delicious. It's a lot of shaking but it's worth it. I did find judging how much soda water to add a bit awkward as I didn't know how much volume I'd get when pouring both into a glass.
Ended up with an utter fail. The cream seemed to split, so the cocktail ended up with foam and then a layer redolent of a standard drink, rather than a fluffy cloud. The taste was too tart with no balance whatsoever. It ended up being limp, with no creaminess or smoothness. Anybody could provide some insight so that I can do it correctly next time? I shaked for 40 seconds, then reverse dry shook it for 1.5 minutes.
The best cocktail. Took a lot of practice to get this one spot on, but worth the effort. The only tip missing in the recipe is to poke a hole in the middle of the meringue, after it's rested in the fridge for a few minutes, and use that hole to shortly pour the remaining cocktail in to get it to raise.
There’s so much I could say regarding tips for best foam but I’ll just summarise:
15-30ml of soda in the mix is ‘all’? & cream/fat is death to egg white. Add cream after mixing (milkshake machine is also advised then shake with a large format ice block after that) Lastly, to elevate foam above the glass, add soda or more mix with a narrow neck squirty type sauce bottle after patiently waiting 3min approx for foam to settle (preferably in the fridge).
After much experimentation, I believe Ramos had it right from the beginning.
His ingredients/proportions work perfectly provided you serve in a 9oz highball glass which leaves plenty reserve with which to "raise the head" after a rest without diluting with soda.
Keys:
- Air tight shaker (critical - I use a Contigo).
- "Jigger" meant 2oz in Ramos' day.
- And "powdered sugar" meant "fine sugar" (no cornstarch).
1. This recipe is too watery. WAY too watery; if you want a lighter (or budget) version, sure, but I suggest 2oz *heavy* cream. Reserving some of the fizz means you'll have to pour it over the head, which will break up the head. Instead, empty the shaker thru a strainer, add a splash of soda, then get the rest of the hard foam out. Wait a minute, then run more soda down the edge of the glass to lift the head above the rim. This is the classic New Orleans technique.
The original recipe per the New Orleans website:
Ramos Gin Fizz Recipe
3 dashes lemon juice
2 dashes lime juice
3 dashes orange flower water
1 1/4 oz. dry gin
1/4 of the white of one egg
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3 oz. milk
Add the contents to a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake very well until good and frothy, strain into a cocktail tumbler.
Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a hurricane glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.
I disagree. I tried many methods, and the way described here is spot on - though I also often use heavy cream too - though I find it makes little difference. For the final pour through the meringue, you poke a hole through the middle with a straw, and slowly pour the remaining cocktail (without soda) through the hole. If you've done it right, you should be able to have a metal straw support itself in the meringue.
Although little more complicated than most - dry shake, shake, simultaneous pouring, etc. - this is definitely worth the effort. I skipped the (optional) vanilla extract and did not regret the omission.
Too bad they didn’t have immersion blenders back in the day. I cheated with my trusty Braun on the dry shake and it came out just dandy. Yes, I’m a heretic.
Mine had a couple of minor variations: I didn't have half n half, so I used half as much heavy cream (I had to eyeball it). And I accidentally overpoured the vanilla extract; I think it was maybe 1/4 tsp, but I'm not upset. I think it lends the drink a nice sweetness, and I think it's why it tastes so much like a summer dessert to me.