[Cocktail Log] The Ramos Gin Fizz

While in Seattle this past week I got the chance to have an expertly mixed Ramos Gin Fizz at a speakeasy called Needle and Thread. It was amazing, and I vowed to learn to make it come hell or highwater (or, more likely, come very sore arms or high drunkenness). The RGF is very different from a classic Gin Fizz (that being: gin, lemon, powdered sugar, and club soda). It's an elaborate variation created by a mad genius (who apparently employed upwards of 30 street urchins to be "shaker boys" at the height of the drink's popularity). Apparently it's a popular breakfast drink or something, but to hell with that.

Enough parentheticals! Here's the recipe! Or at least, one version of it, and the one I used as a starting point when I started experimenting on my friends and myself.

• 2 ounces gin
• 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 egg white
• 1 ounce heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons superfine sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon orange flower water
• Cold club soda

Vigorously shake the gin, lemon juice, lime juice, egg white, cream, sugar, and orange flower water with ice; then strain into a 10-ounce highball glass without ice. Pour in club soda to fill.

Here's what I learned during my first night of experimentation:
1) This is an exhausting drink to make. It requires a LOT of vigorous shaking
2) When making egg-white drinks, it pays to spend some time "dry shaking" the drink. That is, shake it thoroughly without any ice to work some air into the egg mixture. Then add ice and shake again to foam it up and chill it.
3) I still can't quite get the foam the way I want it. Mine ends up kinda "latte foam", it's thick but very wet. The one I had at N&T managed to get foam that was very light, stable and relatively dry. More like meringue than latte. I'm not sure if I need more shaking, or if I need to investigate other methods (shaking the egg without mixers maybe?)
4) I tried the nearest couple of good liquor stores looking for Orange Flower Water but was predictably disappointed. I subbed in triple sec which worked fine, but I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for OFW to improve this.
5) 1 oz is way too much cream IMO. I dropped this to about a half-ounce and the drink became much less heavy and creamy, and more ginny and fizzy.
6) Some recipes call for 2 drops of vanilla extract. This is, apparently, quite controversial. I don't care about the drama, but I do like the taste with some vanilla. It really makes the foam interesting! However: go VERY easy. The flavors in the drink are very subtly balanced and it's easy to overpower them with vanilla. I'll be dropping this to 1 drop in the future.
7) Gin experiments need to be done too. I made these with Plymouth. They were tasty!

So, still lots of room for improvement. But hey! That's what makes this such a great project drink. :D

[Gin log] On gin

Gin! Turns out I like it. Turns out that once they've had it as real adult drinkers, everyone I know likes it! This is both good and bad. More delicious drinks... but man we go through it quickly. I wanted to provide a quick look at the gins I've had since getting into it, before I totally forget!

1) Hendrick's Gin
Country of Origin: Scotland
Thoughts: It got me drinking gin, it's that damn good. Low on the juniper, and high on cucumbers. Doesn't make very good Aviations because it doesn't taste "ginny" enough. In fact, I wouldn't bother using it in most cocktails... it's not typically what the cocktail wants and it's pricey. Served chilled with a slice of cucumber, or in a martini though? Oh yes.

2) New Amsterdam
Country of Origin: US
Thoughts: I don't remember much about this bottle. I drank it all making various classic cocktails though, and they tasted pretty good. :) They claim it's "smooth" and "crisp", for what that's worth.

3) Citadelle
Country of Origin: France
Thoughts: I really enjoyed this bottle. Very citrusy, not overpoweringly ginny. We drank basically the whole bottle straight, with only a touch of vermouth or olive juice to make it seem like a proper drink. Definitely a tasty sipping gin.

5) Plymouth
Country: England
Thoughts: I haven't gotten a bottle of this, but it makes for amazing Aviations. According to wikipedia, Plymouth counts as a style of gin all by its lonesome and it's been kicking around since the stone ages. As soon as I find a bottle, I'll be getting one.

4) Boodle's
Country: UK
Thoughts: My first real "london dry" bottle. It's... very dry. The flavor is too much for me to really enjoy sipping it, but it makes excellent cocktails. We ran it through the paces with some classic cocktails, and killed the bottle in under 24 hours. Certainly not my favorite style straight, but for most classic cocktails: this is what they want.

[Gin Log] Bluecoat

Gin: Bluecoat American Dry Gin
Price: ~$27
Proof: 94

Trolling through my local libation liquidators, I saw a rather eye-catching display of Bluecoat, a dry gin that claimed to be of the American [0] variety. The display boasted of various liquor competition honors [1] while the bottle trumpeted its craft distillation. For $27 a 750, I was willing to give it a whirl.

Opening the bottle with my more seasoned gin drinking friend, the smell was strongly herbal, a much bolder tone than we were expecting. Taking our first few glasses neat, however, the liquor was no evergreen monster. Definitely a subtle gin and rather smooth.

Bluecoat proved to be more than adequate for gin and tonic, providing a muted but excellent partner to our diet brand-X tonic water. I was definitely surprised when I mixed it with some lemon-lime soda we had on hand: even at one-to-one, the drink was downright refreshing. From here to inebriation mixed with only a little bit of our home-grown, 100% genuine all-natural artificial corn syrup, lime flavoring, fizzy watter and a downright patriotic gin? Sign me up, Uncle Sam!

[0] As opposed to the London or British variety. The marketeers are quite subtle in their machinations.
[1] Liquor competition judge: best job ever or most delicious job ever? Why am I even posing this as a question?