Gin Fizz Recipe
A Gin Fizz is the original brunch cocktail: dry gin, fresh lemon and sugar shaken hard with ice, then lengthened with cold soda for a tall, frothy, refreshing pour. It is the fizz that started a whole family of drinks.
Ingredients
- 2 ozdry gin
- 0.75 ozfresh lemon juice
- 0.75 ozsimple syrup
- 1 ozheavy cream (optional, for a Silver Fizz)
- 2 to 3 ozclub soda, chilled
- 1egg white (optional, for a frothier top)
Garnish
- Lemon wheel
- Lemon peel twist
Equipment: Cocktail shaker, jigger, fine mesh strainer, highball glass, bar spoon
Method
- Chill a highball glass by filling it with ice and cold water while you build the drink.
- Combine the gin, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup in a shaker. For a Silver Fizz, add the heavy cream; for extra foam, add the egg white.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds until the tin is frosty and the mixture is well aerated.
- Empty the ice from the highball glass, then strain the shaken mixture into the glass through a fine mesh strainer.
- Top with chilled club soda, stir once gently with a bar spoon to lift the foam, and garnish with a lemon wheel or twist.
About the Gin Fizz
The Gin Fizz dates to the late 1800s, when American bartenders began stretching sour-style drinks with carbonated water. The formula is simple and old: gin, lemon, sugar, soda. Its cousin the Ramos Gin Fizz, born in New Orleans, added cream, egg white and orange flower water and demanded a legendary long shake. The plain Gin Fizz stayed the workhorse, a tall, low-ABV-feeling drink that became a brunch staple and the base for the whole fizz family, including the Silver Fizz with egg white and the Golden Fizz with egg yolk.
Nailing it comes down to two things: real fresh lemon juice and a hard shake before the soda goes in. Never shake with the soda, or you lose the carbonation that gives the drink its snap. Use a dry gin with clear juniper and citrus so it does not fight the lemon, and keep the glass and soda cold. Pour the soda gently down the side of the glass, stir once, and serve immediately while the foam is still standing.
- Squeeze lemons to order; bottled juice flattens the drink.
- Shake longer than you think, at least 12 seconds, to build the foam.
- Add the soda last and stir once, never shake it.
- For a Silver Fizz, add 1 oz heavy cream; for a frothier top, add an egg white and dry shake first.
Get the bottles delivered
Order online for same-day or next-day Long Island delivery, free curbside pickup in Commack, or nationwide shipping where it is legal. You must be 21 or older.
