Ramos Gin Fizz

Classic/vintage · Creamy (e.g. Dirty banana) · Hall of Fame and must know/try

4.7 213 ratings

Ingredients

How to make

Flavour profile

11.5% alc./vol. · 1.4 standard drinks · 257 calories

History

A classic cocktail with a perfect sweet and sour balance, enhanced by an incredibly smooth mouthfeel. Some recipes call for old tom gin, in which case sugar syrup may need reducing.

The Ramos Gin Fizz originated in 1888, devised by Henry Charles Ramos at the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, located at the intersection of Gravier and Carondelet Streets in New Orleans, Louisiana. Henry, known at the time as Carl, along with his brother Charles Henry Ramos, assumed control of the establishment from Emile Sunier. Sunier had previously acquired the location from Pat Morgan, who had promoted Imperial Cabinet branded whiskey, which gave the bar its name. Initially christened the New Orleans Fizz, Henry referred to his celebrated drink as the One And Only One. This creamy, almost fluffy concoction quickly achieved widespread acclaim, boosting the bar's renown to such a degree that it frequently employed 20 bartenders and "shaker boys" solely for preparing Ramos Gin Fizz cocktails, yet even then, demand was often difficult to satisfy. This might be comprehended given that proponents claim it necessitates 12 minutes of shaking, often involving multiple bartenders in a relay, partly because the shaker becomes so chilled and frosted that a cloth is needed for comfortable handling. Building on the triumph of his drink, Henry established his own expanded bar in 1907, acquiring Tom Anderson's Stag Saloon. This new venue was located a short distance away at 712 Gravier Street, on the corner of St Charles Avenue, directly across from the St. Charles Hotel entrance. Stanley Clisby Arthur, in his work Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, noted that at The Stag, "the corps of busy shaker boys behind the bar was one of the sights of the town during Carnival, and in the 1915 Mardi Gras, 35 shaker boys nearly shook their arms off, but were still unable to keep up with the demand." When Prohibition began on 27th October 1919, at the precise moment of midnight, Henry declared, "I've sold my last Gin Fizz." Henry's establishment was compelled to shut down, and the recipe for his drink remained a tightly held secret. This changed when Don Higgins, a staff writer for The New Orleans Item-Tribune, possessed "the brass-bound nerve to ask it of him." The reporter conducted an interview with Henry "in his roomy, cool old Creole home at 726 North Rampart Street," where Henry reportedly stated, "Now I will give you the formula for the One And Only One, the Ramos Original Gin Fizz. But in publishing it you must say that if success does not attend the first mixture, a second should be tried. And be sure to use an airtight shaker and to shake and shake and shake until there is not a bubble left but the drink is smooth and snowy white and of the consistency of good rich milk. The secret of success lies in the good care you take and in your patience, and be certain to use good material." Higgins' article detailing his encounter with Henry was republished several years later, on 23rd September 1928, just five days following Henry's passing, under the title "A tribute to one of New Orleans' greatest treasures." This publication contained the subsequent recipe. "Ramos' Original Gin Fizz One tablespoonful powdered sugar Three or four drops of orange flower water One-half lime (juice) One-half lemon (juice) One jigger of Old Tom Gin The white of one egg One-half glass of crushed ice About two tablespoonsful of rich milk or cream A little Seltzer water (about an ounce) to make it pungent Together well shaken and strained (drink freely)" It is suggested by some that vanilla extract served as the covert component preventing others from replicating the Ramos Gin Fizz effectively, though others contend it was not initially incorporated. Stanley Clisby Arthur notes in his 1937 publication, Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, that "Veteran barkeepers differ violently - practically come to blows - over the inclusion of the two innocent drops of extract of vanilla. Old-timers who worked for Henry Ramos in the past declare the original Ramos included no vanilla. Others hold that the twin drops of extract wrung from the heart of the vanilla bean either make or break a real gin fizz - make it taste like heaven or the reverse." Arthur further advises, "Therefore, when you mix your fizz, add the two vanilla drops or leave them out, just as you please." In 1935, the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans, situated merely a few blocks from the drink's birthplace, acquired the rights to the Ramos Gin Fizz from Henry's son and subsequently trademarked the beverage. (For clarity, the establishment now known as the Fairmont Hotel commenced operations in 1893 as The Hotel Grunewald, later transforming into The Fairmont, then The Roosevelt, prior to reopening as The Fairmont after Hurricane Katrina. The name Fairmont is used throughout to avoid confusion across different periods.) The Fairmont Hotel actively promoted the cocktail, whose appeal was also boosted by the governor of Louisiana, Huey P. Long's, appreciation for it. This enthusiasm was such that in July 1935, he brought a bartender named Sam Guarino from the Fairmont Hotel to the New Yorker Hotel in New York City. Guarino's task was to instruct the staff there on preparing a Ramos Gin Fizz, ensuring Long could enjoy the drink during his stays in New York. The Museum of the American Cocktail possesses newsreel footage documenting this event. Bartenders at the Sazerac Bar within the Fairmont Hotel proudly prepare the cocktail and recount the narrative of Henry Ramos even now.

Also known as Ramos Fizz, New Orleans Fizz, One And Only One