There are few cocktails more pleasing or delicious than the Ramos Gin Fizz. Invented in 1888 in New Orleans, it’s a velvety mix of gin, lemon juice, lime juice, egg white, sugar, cream and orange-flower water. Basically, it’s a really boozy ice-cream float. It must be shaken for 5-12 minutes. That’s a workout.
“When a Ramos order comes in, I do have to remember to smile,” confesses Max Whitney, barman at the charmingly eccentric Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell. “But of course, the customer is always right.”
Anticipation is a pleasure we risk losing in a culture of canned cosmopolitans. It’s very satisfying watching Max work. First, he shakes without ice “to emulsify”, then with ice “to make it creamy”. When Max’s arms give out, he passes the shaker on to Matteo, who relays it to Tom. After five long minutes the ice cubes are tinkling rather than clunking. Thirty seconds later, it’s poured and topped with soda water, so it puffs up soufflé-style. Arduous to make, easy to drink. But achievable.
At one point, Henry Charles Ramos employed 32 men at his bar, the Imperial Cabinet saloon in New Orleans, just to shake his eponymous cocktail. You don’t need staff to master the Ramos and other seemingly complex cocktails, such as sours. You just need confidence, stamina and basic skills.
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“Everyone can try martinis at home,” says Max. “Stirred drinks are easier than shaken. Some of our ingredients, like the beurre-noisette whisky, take days to make and we infuse our eggs with oat essence, but the actual cocktails need to be quick and relatively straightforward. We’re not misting nonsense in your face or making you eat the glass after. And we never use garnish.”
Max uses vacuum stills chilled to -19C in order to extract floral and fruity notes, to make the rose-petal liqueur and rosehip eau de vie, which form the base of his Secret Garden. Not your standard kitchen kit. This rosy mix is then topped up with champagne. “Always go for complex flavours and simple techniques.” Just don’t add a garnish. Easy, honest.
Three of the best
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Secret Garden
Mix 10ml dry rose-petal liqueur with 10ml rosehip eau de vie or Briottet Liqueur de Rose (£15.89, thedrinkshop.com), then top up with whatever dry fizz you have to hand
Priory sour
Mix 40ml beurre noisette-infused Rittenhouse Rye with 20ml of lemon juice and 20ml oat-infused egg whites. Add 15ml malted barley syrup, then shake briefly without ice, followed by a minute with ice. Strain into a tumbler. In the likely event you lack key ingredients, head to the Zetter Townhouse and ask for Max
Ramos gin fizz
Mix 50ml gin with 15ml lemon juice, 15ml lime juice, 25ml double cream, 25ml egg white, 25ml gomme syrup and 5ml maraschino liqueur. Shake briefly without ice, then add ice and shake for at least 5 minutes. Strain into a tall glass and top with soda water