The Ramos Gin Fizz Masterclass: My Tips for a Perfect Ramos Every Time!

Hi, Friends of Cocktails! The Ramos Gin Fizz is creamy, fluffy, and comes with a big foamy crown… but it’s also known as the Bartender’s nightmare–can we change that? Today I’ll show you how by making the classic Ramos, plus a pair of interesting twists, including bringing the ABV down, without compromising on the richness!

I’ll also share a few tips and tricks along the way, starting with one you’ll need for the best results today: make sure your soda water is as cold as possible. Lower temperature means more carbonation and a fluffier cocktail. Also keep your glasses in the freezer, and while they chill I’ll tell you the origins of this cocktail.

The Ramos Gin Fizz was invented in 1888 by Henry C. Ramos in New Orleans. Back then, they reportedly shook each one for 12 minutes… that’s a lot of shaking. It’s said it became so popular that Ramos had to hire a team of “shaker boys” just to keep up. But the OGs will know that we’ve covered this bit of history on Cocktail Time before, along with a Clarified Ramos and a Violet Ramos. 

Today though we’ll start with the classic Ramos, for which you’ll need gin, vanilla syrup, a combination of lime and lemon juices, a tiny amount of orange blossom water, saline solution, cream, egg white, and soda to make it light and rise up over the rim of the glass. So get your ingredients ready and let’s make the classic Ramos Gin Fizz. It’s Cocktail Time!

Classic Ramos Gin Fizz

● 60mL · 2oz Beefeater Gin

● 30mL · 1oz Egg White

● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Vanilla Syrup

● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Cream

● 15mL · 0.5oz Lemon Juice

● 15mL · 0.5oz Lime Juice Juice

● 4 drops Orange Blossom Water

● 4 drops 20% Saline Solution

● Soda

I’ll start by separating the egg white by using an upside down hawthorne strainer, then into a separate shaker I’ll add everything except the soda water. Now we’ll use a milk frother to blitz the egg white to quickly break it apart, and make it easier to measure. So with that, add it into the shaker, just in time for our next tip: shake your Ramos using a reverse dry shake.

With a reverse dry shake, you chill the cocktail first, then you emulsify it. That gives the cocktail a smoother, fluffier texture. So once you have the ice and the cocktail in your shakers give it a good, hard shake. Then pop open the tins, strain the cocktail, discard the ice, and we’ll shake again, this time just the cocktail.

When it comes to pouring, it’s time for tip number 3: start with 1oz or 30mL of ice cold soda water in your chilled highball glass, before you pour in the cocktail. This helps the cocktail bloom, but after you’re done pouring  it’s time to wait for the foam to settle and stiffen a bit. For this you can even place it in the freezer for about 3 minutes.

That’s exactly what I did, and now it’s time to bring this foam up over the rim of the glass. To do that I first poked a hole in the middle with a straw to make it easier to pour the soda water through the foam. And as you do that you’ll see the foam slowly rising above. Don’t go crazy with it, and if you see it tilting it’s time to stop. 

The Ramos Gin Fizz is creamy, fluffy, and absolutely delicious. It tastes like a grown-up vanilla milkshake, but way more elegant. It’s full-bodied and super drinkable, but now let’s try two riffs, made two different ways and with a lower ABV.  

First, I’ll make a herbal version, which requires even less work to get it super creamy, thanks to this next tip: you can use an iSi siphon to make quick and easy work of your next Ramos. I’ll walk you through my thought process of creating this drink as I swap out the original Ramos ingredients.

Instead of gin I’ll be using a combination of two ingredients as the base: Lillet Blanc, a French wine-based aperitif with herbal, citrusy, and slightly honeyed notes. To boost those herbal elements even more I’m adding Yellow Chartreuse. With flavors like honey, mint and spruce tips it will pair nicely with Lillet, and its saffron undertone will replace the vanilla from the classic.

We already have some sweetness from Lillet and Chartreuse so we’ll need less of the syrup, but using honeyed syrup will pair it beautifully with the herbal base and add to that soft mouthfeel. We’re keeping the combination of lemon and lime juice, but since Lillet already has some acidity, we’ll need less of it from our citrus. 

The orange blossom water still fits the profile, and we’re keeping the saline. The cream stays too of course, and for the egg white we won’t need as much since we’ll be using an iSi siphon for the prep. We of course need soda to bring the cocktail above the rim of the glass, but we don’t need to pour it in the glass first. So once your iSi siphon is ice cold we’re ready to make our next Ramos.

Herbal Ramos Gin Fizz

● 45mL · 1.5oz Lillet Blanc

● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Egg White

● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Cream

● 22.5mL · 0.75oz 50:50 Lime & Lemon Juice Mix

● 15mL · 0.5oz Honey Syrup

● 15mL · 0.5oz Yellow Chartreuse

● 4 drops Orange Blossom Water

● 4 drops 20% Saline Solution

● 1 Nitrous Oxide Cartridge

● Soda

Into the cold iSi siphon add everything except the soda, along with 2 to 3 ice cubes. Now seal the siphon and give it a really good shake, then charge it with one nitrous oxide cartridge and shake again to mix everything evenly.

As mentioned we don’t need to add soda first, so just pour our cocktail straight into a chilled highball glass. You’ll already see that it’s even fluffier than the original, but just like with the classic, we’ll let the foam settle first. So place it in the freezer again for about 3 minutes, then poke a small hole in the foam and slowly top with chilled soda water. Beautiful yet again!

The taste of our second Ramos is wonderful, with nice herbal and honeyed notes. But if I’m honest, not just the foam, but the aeration is over the top as well, so I actually preferred the original. With that said, it’s definitely a cocktail that’s easy to enjoy, and you don’t even notice the lower ABV. But let’s see if we can make the last one the best, and the easiest!

It will be another low-ABV version, this one with the floral and berry notes taking center stage. Perfect for the spring and early summer. We’ll start again by replacing the classic gin. For this one I’ll be using Lillet Rosé. It’s still wine-based, low in ABV, bringing in floral aromas, a hint of grapefruit peel, and red berry notes.

To support those flavors I’m adding Malfy Gin Rosa. It adds a touch of pink grapefruit, and just a little juniper for structure. Since Lillet already brings some sweetness, we’re adding just a bit of simple syrup. We’ll also add a small amount of Schezuan peppercorn tincture, which will boost the floral and berry notes. For the citrus we’re again combining lime and lemon, like we did for the second one.

Instead of orange blossom water, I’ll be using drops of rose water–I think this change explains itself. Saline and cream stay the same, as does the soda water, and we’ll also be using the same amount of egg white as we did in the original. Before you start making the drink, make sure you place the glass in the freezer, and here’s another tip: use a glass that narrows slightly at the top.

This shape will compress the foam slightly as it rises and help the foam hold its form. Just make sure it’s not too fluffy, like it was with the last one. Now let’s make our final Ramos of the day!

Floral & Berry Ramos Gin Fizz

● 45mL · 1.5oz Lillet Rose

● 30mL · 1oz Egg White

● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Malfy Gin Rosa

● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Cream

● 22.5mL · 0.75oz 50:50 Lime & Lemon Juice Mix

● 15mL · 0.5oz Simple Syrup

● 10 drops Rose Water

● 7 drops Szechuan Peppercorn Tincture

● 4 drops 20% Saline Solution

● Soda

Start with a chilled shaker, then add in everything but the soda. We’ll now shake with ice, and we’re ready for the final tip of the day: use a milk frother to whip up and aerate your Ramos Gin Fizz with the strength of 15 shaker boys. With this method you’ll be able to whip the cocktail up into a thick, stable foam without over-shaking.

Now it’s time to get your chilled glass from the freezer, add a small amount of soda water, then pour in our frothy, floral cocktail. We’re again letting the foam settle for about 3 minutes before it’s time to top it. Once it’s ready we’re doing the same thing as before, gently adding cold soda water and we should see the foam rise.

This one’s definitely more floral, and also subtly fruity, with a little zing underneath from the tincture. The foam is rich, full, but still beautifully airy–honestly, this method might be my favorite so far. You could achieve the same result with a milkshake maker, but we don’t have that at the studio yet, to try it out. But that’s the Ramos Gin Fizz, three ways - classic, herbal, and floral–different flavors, different methods, but with the same fluffy goodness. Until next time, Friends of Cocktails. Cheers!