This cocktail is full of glamour and romance and will add a touch of class to any event where it’s served. Not holding a fancy soiree? Then why not include them whilst cooking for a loved one at home? Or better yet, serve them for friends over a late lunch?
The recipe:
90ml Dry white wine
30ml Limoncello
½ teaspoon Amaretto
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Classy drinks for a classy night… Make them for your loved one, you won’t regret it… Picture courtesy of http://www.FoodNetwork.co.uk
Method:
1) Shake the ingredients over ice in a shaker. Shake for 5 seconds.
2) Strain the mixture into a large wine goblet.
3) Garnish with a Lemon zest spiral.
I don’t particularly favour wine cocktails, but as far as they go, this one is rather nice. I prefer mine to come with a bit of a fizz… If you do too, remove 30-40 ml (to your own taste) of white wine and prepare like normal, but top up with a splash of Prosecco.
The best way to serve this cocktail is obviously chilled and prepared as above, but for that added romantic touch, drop in one of the following (use the one that suits your taste and colour):
Parfait Amour: Violet flavour and purple in colour, this will inject a touch of romance into your very own touch of Venice…
Angostura Bitters: For a dash of extreme flavour and a burgundy colour flowing through the drink choose this wonderful ingredient…
Green Chartreuse: Use a ½ teaspoon of chartreuse per glass here, and you’ll witness a slither of green run through you’re drink…
Blue Curacao: Like the parfait amour addition only it’s a lovely river of blue…
Grenadine/Sloe Gin: This is a slightly fruitier choice, and adds a shade of red to your romantic evening.
Venice is the city of Romance, this cocktail is your little touch… Picture from http://www.isango.com
The choice is yours! Simply use ½ a teaspoon of the above, or just have it originale…
The Ramos Fizz – A Classy drink, for classy times!
Now I know I have posted about the Cointreau fizz cocktails (and the event) recently; well it got me thinking… What is a fizz cocktail? And are there other great fizzes out there?
The answer to the latter is a resounding YES! And I’ll come to them a bit later on, but for now let’s look at the fizz as a generic cocktail.
The official stance on a fizz cocktail is as follows:
“A fizz is a cocktail made with 4 key ingredients: alcohol, Lemon Juice, sugar & Soda water”
So let’s look that back: Alcohol is obvious, then you add some lemon juice and sugar (this adds a little depth & flavour as well as taking the edge off of the gin) and the soda water is obviously the ‘fizz’ bit.
Top Tip: sweet & sour mix could be used instead of the lemon and sugar, but I like to use them separately for one reason: It makes the drink feel more robust, plus you can use any type of sugar syrup you want (I prefer Agave Nectar but hey that’s just me).
There are plenty of varieties when it comes to fizz cocktail, especially since you can use any alcohol, as long as the other 3 ingredients you use are the same. The concept behind the fizz cocktail is very similar to the classic ‘sour’ cocktail (whisky sour, vodka sour etc…).
So by this explanation you can take your favourite spirit, be it Vodka, Gin, Rum or Tequila and just mix up a classic fizz cocktail. Sure some taste better than others but let’s face it: It’s all down to the taste and preference of the individual.
So whilst some enjoy the fruity Gin Fizz, others might prefer the subtler tastes of a Vodka fizz.
A fizz cocktail, as mentioned above, is the combination of alcohol, lemon and soda. However almost every recipe you find online (or in book) will include an optional ingredient: Egg white(s). Now as the recipes will say (well most of them) the egg white is optional in all of the cocktails. So those of you not feeling too confident about using raw egg whites can make the drink without them. A great alternative to fresh egg whites is the pasteurised version. They can be found at almost every local supermarket but if you’re struggling to find the product here is a link to the Sainsbury’s websites’ product page. It’s the best alternative, and again it is completely optional.
However you prefer yours, take a look at the following variations. These are what I consider to be the best 10 Fizz cocktails available… there are even a couple of fruitier versions for those of you with a vice…
10) Classic Gin Fizz
3 measures Good Quality Gin*
1 measure lemon juice
½ measure sugar syrup (1:1)
Club soda/mineral water – to top
Method:
1) Pour the ingredients into a shaker.
2) Dry shake (shake without ice) for about 2-3 minutes if you’re using the egg white, if not move on to step 3.
3) Then fill with ice and shake until cold (if using egg white, you should also shake until the sound of the ice is significantly muffled).
4) Strain into a chilled glass. Serve with a straw.
5) Serve over ice without egg white; serve without ice if egg white is included.
6) Either way top up with club soda/sparkling mineral water.
*I’ve noted down London Dry gin as the ingredient but feel free to change this out for your favourite gin. The whole point is that it suits your tastes, so you might as well use your preferred gin.
The best thing about this cocktail is its simplicity. Using just the handful of ingredients listed (less if you throw out the optional ones) this cocktail defines the classic cocktail. It does, however, have a relatively longer preparation time than other cocktails, but only because of the use of egg whites. If you remove them and settle for a ‘safe’ gin fizz then you cut down the preparation time significantly.
The addition of the egg white ‘fluffs’ out the drinks texture and adds a little body to it. The lack of ice is president however, and this may turn some of you off. If you’re feeling brave give it a go, you might be surprised at how good it actually is…
9) Vodka Fizz
3 measures Grey Goose Vodka
1 measure lemon juice
½ measure sugar syrup (1:1)
Club Soda – to top
Method:
1) Shake all the ingredients over ice and strain into an ice filled cocktail glass.
2) Garnish with a slice of lemon/lime.
Top tip: To add some flavour to this standard vodka fizz, try using flavoured vodkas with their fresh counterparts. For example there is a large collection of flavoured vodkas within the Grey Goose brand, like cucumber and orange. Just add a splash of fresh fruit/veg into the drink when shaking and garnish with a well presented slice/skewer.
8) Golden Fizz
45ml gin
30ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 egg yolk
15ml sugar syrup (1:1)
Club soda – to top
Method:
1) Shake all the ingredients (minus the club soda) in a Boston shaker with plenty of ice.
2) Strain into an ice filled glass and top with the soda water.
I cannot sit here and say this cocktail is one of my favourites. However it does deserve a mention in this list for its sheer bravado. It throws caution to the wind and adds a whole egg yolk to a drink that, let’s be honest, is just fine with an egg white. But what this cocktail brings is a richer, more wholesome drink perfect for the brunch-time drinkers (we lot here in the UK don’t like to restrict ourselves to a specific time when drinking)…
So whilst it’s not one of my personal favourites, I’ll put those feelings to one side and place it here and let you all decide for yourselves… Take it or leave it, but never underestimate it…
1) Dry shake (shake without ice) all of the ingredients except the soda and garnish.
2) Then shake over ice until the ice cubes are muffled.
3) Strain into a glass over 1 large ice cube.
4) Top up with club soda and drop in a cherry for garnish.
This is a famous cocktail originating from New York City. A fantastic original creation by Julie Reiner; owner of the Flatiron Lounge (New York City) and cocktail stylist, this cocktail boasts great flavour and a little jazz aged class. The use of molasses is interesting, although optional as it is hard to find flavoured molasses here in the UK (use Grenadine syrup instead if you want – it’s the same flavour although lacking in the same quality as molasses).
Again this cocktail uses an egg white, and whilst most on this list are optional, this recipe uses an egg white specifically. So for those who insist on not using one in your own version of this drink; don’t blame me if it doesn’t taste the same as the original…
6) Imperial (aka whisky) Fizz
2 measures Whisky
1 measure lemon juice
½ measure sugar syrup (1:1)
Club soda – to top
Method:
1) In a shaker, combine the ingredients above and shake over ice until the tin frosts.
2) Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.
3) Top up with club soda.
This fizz cocktail is one of the classic fizz cocktails, bringing the class and sophistication of the 20’s and 30’s to your bar. When creating your very own version it’s important to note that you should always use a top quality whisky. None of that ‘supermarket brand’ stuff. Go for your favourite blended scotch and have some refreshing drinks with your golf buddies.
5) Champagne (aka Diamond/Royale) Fizz
2 measures Bombay Sapphire Gin
1 measure Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
½ measure sugar syrup
Chilled Champagne – to top
Method:
1) Shake the first 3 ingredients over ice and strain into an ice filled glass.
2) Top up with champagne and stir gently.
3) Serve with a lemon twist as garnish.
This cocktail is a rarity, if only because it requires ice in a drink with champagne (that doesn’t happen too often let me tell you). On top of that it’s the champagne that gives it the fancy name. More often referred to as a ‘Diamond Fizz’ or ‘Fizz Royale’ this cocktail is as simple as the original but with a little more depth in flavour, mainly provided by the champagne. Be careful though, it may not feel like it but a few of these really do pack a bit of a punch.
4) Violet Gin Fizz
45ml Hendricks Gin
10ml Bitter Truth Violet Liqueur
20ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
20ml Sugar syrup (1:1)
10ml fresh cream
1 egg white
Club soda – to top (or bottom in this case)
Courtesy of http://www.Smallscreennetwork.com – this cocktail was first brought to my attention by Charlotte Voisey, from the Proper Pour…
Method:
1) Add all the ingredients into a Boston tin.
2) Dry shake using a slightly larger Boston tin (so you use 2 Boston tins instead of a tin & glass) to get the egg white and other ingredients to bond better.
3) Then add ice into the shaker and shake again to cool & mix the ingredients once more.
4) Put about 25ml soda water into a glass (a reasonable to large dash).
5) Double strain the contents of the shaker into the glass and let the drink mix with the soda willy nilly.
6) Garnish with a slice of orange peel. Squeeze the oils out over the top of the drink, give the peel a gentle twist and slide it in the top of the drink (so as the tip sticks out).
This cocktail is rather complicated and combined with the requirement of egg white & cream slightly lower down this list than I would like. But I know that many of you won’t try it because of the use of egg white. However I implore you to at least give it a try, using the same two chicks’ product as mentioned in my preview blog (check out the link at the end of this blog to find the product).
This cocktail is a smooth lightly flavoured and is inspired by the classic Ramos Gin Fizz. Using a small splash of cream this cocktail is perfect for brunch, but equally exotic enough for a night out.
3) Ramos Gin Fizz
2 measures Old Tom Gin*
1 measure heavy cream
1 measure sugar syrup (1:1)
½ measure fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ measure fresh squeezed lime juice
1 egg white
3 dashes Orange Blossom Water
1 drop vanilla extract (optional)
This is one of the more eccentric and rather classy fizz cocktails, but regardless it tastes fantastic. Give it a go…
Method:
1) Combine the ingredients and dry shake (shake without ice) for 10 seconds.
2) Fill the shake with ice and shake for 2-3 minutes.
3) Continue shaking until the sound of the ice dies off.
4) Strain the foamy contents of the shaker into a chilled, but empty, Collins glass and top with soda (to just raise the head above the glass slightly).
5) Straws are optional, but if you use one it should stand upright in the centre of the cocktail.
This cocktail is arguably the most famous fizz cocktail known across the world. First created by Henry C. Ramos in 1888 in New Orleans, the drink is rumoured to have taken up to 12 minutes to shake into the fabled ‘meringue’ textured legend that is the very first Ramos Fizz. However you’ll be hard pressed to find any bartender willing/able to do that these days. The Roosevelt in New Orleans still serves a traditional recipe version of the Ramos fizz, paying homage to the drinks origin. There they make up to (and most probably exceeding) 50 Ramos Fizz’s a day. Like the Mint Julep consumption rate at the Kentucky Derby, the Ramos Fizz is a ‘cocktail-delicacy’ you have to try when in the home city of ‘Tales of the Cocktail’.
2) Sidecar Fizz
1 egg white
¾ measures fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 ½ measures Cognac
¾ measures Cointreau
½ measure sugar syrup (1:1) optional
Club Soda – to top
A combination cocktail: What happens when you smash a Fizz Cocktail and a Sidecar together? That’s right this beauty…
Method:
1) Combine the egg white and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously until combined – dry shake.
2) Add in the other ingredients and fill with ice. Shake vigorously again.
3) Strain into a cocktail glass (coupe glasses work perfectly)
4) To garnish add a splash of club soda and a lemon twirl/slice (which ever you prefer).
This cocktail is a rather different take on a fizz, with the Sidecar already a cocktail in its own right. This is so high on the list for the pure reason of ingenuity. Making cocktails is as much about creating new drinks and pushing boundaries as it is about preparing the perfect martini. And this drink encapsulates everything that’s great about the new cocktail era we find ourselves living in. Knock one up and give it a try. You will not be disappointed…
1)Sloe Gin Fizz
2 measures Sloe Gin
½ measure Lemon Juice
¼ measure Sugar Syrup (1:1)
Club Soda – to top
My Favourite fizz cocktail, the sweetness combined with the dry soda works wonders…
Method:
1) Shake all the ingredients well, over ice, and strain into an ice filled glass.
2) Top up with club soda, from a siphon if you have one (from a bottle if not).
This cocktail might seem like a bit of a cop out but let me tell you that this is the tastiest cocktail in my top 10. The sweetness from the sloe mixed with the sour of the lemon is really something to behold. This drink is a classic cocktail for a reason and it has to have something special for that status. It’s true that there is not much room for movement with the ingredients, this drink is finely balanced, however if you make it well (flowing the above method is a good tip) it has the potential to be the most delicious cocktail you’ve ever tried. The club soda does make this drink into everything that a fizz cocktail should be, and the better the quality the better the drink.
This is the best ‘fizz’ cocktail I’ve ever tried and that is why the Sloe Gin Fizz is my undisputed Number 1 Fizz Cocktail.
The Fervent Shaker 