A "fizz" is a

mixed drink A mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed. Types * List of non-alcoholic mixed drinks -- A non-alcoholic mixed drink (also known as virgin cocktail, boneless cocktail, temperance drink, or mocktail) is a cocktail- ...

variation on the older sours family of

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...

. Its defining features are an acidic juice (such as lemon or lime) and

carbonated water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

. It typically includes gin or

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

as its alcoholic ingredient.

History

The first printed reference to "fiz" is in the appendix to the 1876 edition of Jerry Thomas's ''Bartender's Guide'', which contains four such recipes. The fizz became widely popular in America between 1900 and the 1940s. Known as a hometown specialty of New Orleans, the gin fizz was so popular that bars would employ teams of bartenders that would take turns shaking the drinks. Demand for fizzes went international at least as early as 1950, as evidenced by its inclusion in the French cookbook '' L'Art Culinaire Francais'' published that year.

Gin fizz

A gin fizz is the best-known cocktail in the fizz family. A gin fizz contains gin, lemon juice, and sugar, which are shaken with ice, poured into a tumbler and topped with carbonated water. The drink is similar to a

Tom Collins The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically serv ...

, with a possible distinction being a Tom Collins historically used "

Old Tom gin Old Tom Gin (or Tom Gin or Old Tom) is a gin recipe popular in 18th-century England. In modern times, it became rare but has experienced a resurgence in the craft cocktail movement. It is slightly sweeter than London Dry, but slightly drier than ...

" (a slightly sweeter precursor to

London Dry Gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis''). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the N ...

), whereas the kind of gin historically used in a gin fizz is unknown. Simple variations on the gin fizz are * Silver fizz – addition of

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms ar ...

* Golden fizz – addition of

egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example be ...

* Royal fizz – addition of whole egg * Diamond fizz –

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

instead of carbonated water, more commonly known as a " French 75". * Green fizz – addition of a dash of green

crème de menthe Crème de menthe (, French for "mint cream") is a sweet, mint-flavored alcoholic beverage. It is available commercially in a colorless version (called "white") and a green version (colored by the mint leaves or by added coloring if made from extr ...

Ramos gin fizz

A Ramos gin fizz (also known as a "Ramos fizz" or "New Orleans fizz") contains gin, lemon juice, lime juice, egg white, sugar, cream, orange flower water, and soda water. It is served in a large non-tapered 12 to 14 ounce Collins glass. The orange flower water and egg significantly affect the flavor and texture of a Ramos, compared to a regular gin fizz. The key to making this egg cocktail is dissolving the sugar before adding ice; the sugar acts as an emulsifier, and it and the alcohol "cook" the egg white. Henry C. Ramos invented the Ramos gin fizz in 1888 at his bar, the Imperial Cabinet Saloon on Gravier Street,

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. It was originally called a "New Orleans fizz", and is one of the city's most famous cocktails. Before

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

, the drink's popularity and exceptionally long 12-minute mixing time had over 20 bartenders working at the Imperial at once making nothing but the Ramos gin fizz and still struggling to keep up with demand. During the carnival of 1915, 32 staff members were on at once, just to shake the drink. The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans also popularized the drink, abetted by Governor Huey Long's fondness for it. In July 1935, Long brought a bartender named Sam Guarino from the Roosevelt Hotel to the New Yorker Hotel in New York City to teach its staff how to make the drink so he could have it whenever he was there. The

Museum of the American Cocktail The Museum of the American Cocktail, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to education in mixology and preserving the rich history of the cocktail as developed in the United States. Among its events are tastings ...

has newsreel footage of this event. The Roosevelt Hotel group trademarked the drink name in 1935 and still makes it today.

Sloe gin fizz (purple fizz)

A traditional sloe gin fizz contains sloe gin (a blackthorn plum flavored spirit), grapefruit juice,

simple syrup Inverted sugar syrup, also called invert syrup, invert sugar, simple syrup, sugar syrup, sugar water, bar syrup, syrup United States Pharmacopeia, USP, or sucrose inversion, is a syrup mixture of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose, that ...

, egg white, and carbonated water. A popular alternative eliminates the egg white.Sloe Gin Fizz Recipe - Esquire - How to Make the Perfect Sloe Gin Fizz
/ref> Though the original recipe uses grapefruit juice, variants including lemon juice exist as well.

Less common gin fizzes

* Japanese gin fizz – a standard gin fizz with a shot of lychee liqueur added * Meyer lemon fizz – uses the sweeter

Meyer lemon ''Citrus'' × ''meyeri'', the Meyer lemon (), is a hybrid citrus fruit native to China. It is a cross between a citron and a mandarin/pomelo hybrid. Mature trees are around tall with dark green shiny leaves. The flowers are white with a purp ...

instead of normal lemon, and adds orange juice * New Orleans "fiss" – 75% dry gin, 25%

Creme Yvette Creme Yvette, also called Creme d'Yvette or Creme de Yvette, is a proprietary liqueur made from parma violet petals with blackberries, red raspberries, wild strawberries and cassis, honey, orange peel and vanilla. It was once manufactured by Cha ...

, 1 egg white, 1/2 tsp. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. cream, juice each of 1/2 of an orange, lime, & lemon * Sour melon fizz – gin, lime juice, midori and ginger ale * Strawberry gin fizz – gin, St. Germain liqueur, strawberries, club soda, mint; or gin, lime juice, sparkling water, mint sprigs

Non-gin fizzes

* Chicago fizz –

port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...

, lemon juice, sugar, and egg white * Manhattan cooler – whisky (Scotch), lemon juice, sugar, and lemon-lime soda *

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resemb ...

(a.k.a. Buck's fizz) – champagne, orange juice, sometimes grenadine * Pink fizz (a.k.a. May blossom fizz) – Swedish punsch, lemon juice, grenadine, soda water * Morning glory fizz – whisky (Scotch),

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of '' Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historica ...

, lemon juice, one egg white, sugar, soda water"Morning Glory Fizz"
PUNCH. Retrieved February 2, 2020. * Whiskey fizz – whiskey (American blend), lemon juice, sugar, and lemon-lime soda * Mojito – white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and mint.

References

Notes

External links

Ramos Gin Fizz
in the NY Times
New Orleans' best cocktails: The Ramos Gin Fizz
by bartender Chris McMillan {{DEFAULTSORT:Fizz (Cocktail) Cocktails with lemon-lime soda Cocktails with lemonade New Orleans cocktails Citrus cocktails Bubbly cocktails Cocktails with eggs