Dead Reckoning. . . The Ramos Gin Fizz

I first heard about the Ramos Gin Fizz, while watching one of my favorite 40's film noir offerings: Dead Reckoning (1947).  Lovely Lizabeth Scott's character seemed to really like this tall cocktail, and because I wasn't awfully interested in mixology in my mid to late twenties, I let it slip by.  But there was something about this drink that intrigued me, and when I became a cocktail blogger, I re-discovered this drink, while researching classic cocktails.  And this is a CLASSIC!

Way before Lizabeth Scott's character sat across from Humphrey Bogart's character in Dead Reckoning, the Ramos Gin Fizz had been a classic for decades.  Because mixology is about folklore, I'll share the backstory about this absolutely DELICIOUS drink:

The Ramos Gin Fizz was created by Henry C. Ramos in 1888, in his New Orleans bar, where it was originally called a New Orleans Fizz. Before Prohibition, labor was not expensive, and the Ramos brothers could afford to hire more than a dozen men to shake these drinks, during heavy bar times. The Ramos Gin Fizz was so popular, that it was still difficult for them to keep up with the orders. As time went on, the focus changed from a quality drink made for a valued customer, to a quickly made drink that could be easily provided to a crowd.  However, the Ramos Gin Fizz is still made in bars and hotels, but very few outside of New Orleans.  NOLA has a well established reputation for taking the time needed, to give the customer a quality cocktail - no matter how complicated.  The Sazerac is proof of that.

The attraction of this classic cocktail is about its consistency and unique taste.  As you look at the recipe and the preparation, you'll see how important it is to get the components right. . . and to shake, shake, shake to get the right mouth feel.  Here's how I make mine:

Ramos Gin Fizz

2 oz dry gin (Some recipes recommend Old Tom [sweet] gin)

1/2 oz Lime juice

1/2 oz Lemon juice

1-1/2 oz Simple syrup

2 oz Heavy cream

1 PASTEURIZED egg white*  (I recommend using Frothee, if you do NOT have pasteurized egg whites)

2 dashes Orange Flower Water**

Club soda

Into a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ICE, place all the ingredients EXCEPT FOR the club soda.  Dry shake (NO ICE) for one minute.  Add cracked ice, then shake HARD for at least another two minutes.  Strain into a highball glass containing a splash of club soda.  Garnish with a lemon peel, lime peel, orange peel, OR a sprig of mint.  Pop in a straw and PLEASE don't gulp this one down.  It's light and interesting, and from a mixologist's point of view, this is a gentle feather stroke on the cheek, compared with the slap in the face of a piña colada.

* Any number of cocktail recipes include an egg white.  Keep in mind that these recipes were created back when eggs were not an issue.  IF AND ONLY IF - repeat: IF AND ONLY IF - you can get PASTEURIZED egg whites, include it in the recipe.  Most supermarkets carry cartons of PASTEURIZED egg whites.  Keep them refrigerated.  You may also use powdered egg whites.  And I heartily recommend a product called Frothee, which has NO egg white but makes a very nice froth.

**  For many/most of you, orange flower water may be a strange ingredient, for ANY purpose.  I grew up in an Italian American home, and orange flower water was part of the recipe for the annual Grain Pie at Easter (Pizza Grano).  This was made with cooked wheat, eggs, ricotta cheese, sugar and a dash of orange flower water.  But don't look in a liquor store for this.  You're more likely to find it in a large supermarket or in a specialty store, with the baking items.  If you can't find it, I would recommend using a grating of orange peel.  But DO try to get the orange flower water.