The Ramos Gin Fizz is a classic drink that, a hundred and twenty years after its invention in New Orleans, remains an essential part of the modern bartender’s repertoire.
This is no quirk of history, nor twist of fate. The Ramog Gin Fizz is a minor miracle of mixology. It has the alluring aroma of fresh flowers, backed up by the invigorating flavours of fresh citrus and the faintest hint of preserved sour plums. Most remarkably, it has a rich creaminess that gently evaporates into a satiny smoothness on the tongue, leaving only a pleasurable lightness to mark its passage. Absolutely fantastic.
- 1 1/2 oz gin (i like Tanqueray for its citrus-forwardness)
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 fresh egg white
- 1 oz heavy cream
- 3 drops orange flower water
- 1 oz. club soda
- Combine the first 7 ingredients in a shaker and dry shake (without ice)
- Add ice to the shaker and shake again for as long as you can
- Strain into a glass, top with club soda and stir to mix.
Ramos understood that well. Legend goes that to get that perfect texture, he insisted that the drink be shaken for twelve minutes before it was served.
Twelve minutes.
If you’ve ever shaken a drink, you know that clasping an ice-cold tube of metal for a whole minute isn’t easy, let alone twelve unbroken minutes of wrist-pumping see-saw motions. It’s not just the numbness of the fingers; consider the sheer length of time needed to make just one drink. In a parlour brimming with thirsty customers, making five drinks an hour turns them all into irate customers. Yet, without those twelve minutes of shaking, the drink just wouldn’t have the desired silkiness – according to Ramos, at least.
After personally shaking up dozens of this drinks, one has discovered the truth, however. It is not necessary to shake for that long in order to achieve a certain tolerable texture- if one is willing to be forgiving. A good minute or two of vigorous wrist motion brings the drink to acceptable levels- and that is how most Ramos Gin Fizzes end up. Competent, tasty, but not quite in its perfect form.
Yet. if chance allows, one can elevate the experience. There’s no denying that a longer shake improves the texture. The constant beating motion helps to emulsify and aerate the cocktail in much the same way that beating the white of an egg turns it into a light, foamy meringue.
In Ramos’ day, getting the desired dozen-minute shake was a matter of applying copious amounts of human resources. A line of young “shaker boys” would literally line up in a row and shake the drinks for a minute each, before passing it to his waiting neighbour to carry on with the laborious task. A glorious spectacle, to be sure, but one that seems awfully quaint in the age of technology. Yet, putting the drink in a blender or an egg whipper makes it seem too modern, somehow – a departure from its classic roots.
Veteran mixologist Jason Crawley had the solution though.
The Tanqueray Champion Shaker is a nice nod to history. Inspired by the Industrial Revolution, its old-world stylings bring a certain charm to making a drink mechanically. Singaporeans and Malaysians will no doubt find its look familiar; its hand crank design and cast-iron construction gives it more than a passing resemblance to a traditional Ice Kachang machine. We’ve been assured that all resemblance is purely coincidental; Crawley derived these from the design of his room-sized Imperial Shaker, which took 5 years to create.
When in use, the Champion Shaker pumps the drinks rapidly in a back and forth motion, taking on a certain violent grace as it whips the mixture into shape.
The important question, however, is whether it actually does a good job of shaking a Ramos Gin Fizz. The answer is: yes.
A mere minute of operating the crank will give one a mouthfeel far better than that achievable with mere manual shaking. It’s exceedingly hard to describe the experience exactly, but the drink is so smooth and foamy that one feels as if he is sipping from a citrusy cloud. Suffice to say that it’s worth discovering for yourself.
34 of these machines were lovingly handmade in New Zealand, and it just so happens that one will be sitting at Gibson.
Gibson, already known for its avant-garde Crystal Ramos Gin Fizz, with its clean and light mouthfeel, will now have an excellent counterpoint in its traditional form. I’d suggest ordering both just to taste the difference. You won’t regret it.
