Fizz Family
Definition
A branch of the sour family that adds carbonated water to the base template of spirit, citrus, and sugar. Fizzes are served without ice in the glass, shorter and more concentrated than a Collins.
The Fizz family emerged from the Sour tradition as a way of making the format lighter, more refreshing, and more suited to warm weather. By adding carbonated water to the classic spirit-citrus-sugar template, bartenders created a category that became enormously popular in the United States between 1900 and the 1940s.
Jerry Thomas included the first written Fizz recipes in his 1862 Bar-Tender's Guide. The Gin Fizz is the founding member: gin, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and club soda, shaken and strained into a glass without ice. The absence of ice in the glass is a defining feature of the traditional Fizz, distinguishing it from the taller Collins which is built over ice.
The most famous member of the family is the Ramos Gin Fizz, created by Henry C. Ramos at the Imperial Cabinet Saloon in New Orleans in 1888. Ramos called it the New Orleans Fizz. The recipe adds egg white, heavy cream, and orange flower water to the gin fizz base, requiring the legendary 12-minute shake that Ramos demanded from his "shaker boys." During the Mardi Gras season of 1915, Ramos employed 35 bartenders working in relay lines just to keep up with demand for the drink.
The Fizz format was so popular in New Orleans that bars would employ dedicated shaker teams. Huey Long, Louisiana's Governor in the 1930s, famously brought a bartender from the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans to the New Yorker Hotel in New York so he could have a proper Ramos Gin Fizz away from home.
Other notable Fizzes include the Sloe Gin Fizz and the Royal Fizz (which adds a whole egg). Any spirit can serve as the base, though gin remains the traditional choice.
💡 Pro Tips
- Serve in a chilled glass with no ice — a cold glass helps the fizz stay refreshing longer
- Add the soda water after straining to preserve carbonation — never shake with the soda already in
- For a Ramos Gin Fizz, shake for at least two to three minutes; a short shake produces thin cream
⚠️ Common Mistakes
- Adding soda water before straining destroys the carbonation and produces a flat result
- Serving over ice changes the drink from a Fizz to something closer to a Collins
- Shaking the Ramos too briefly — the extended shake is what creates the signature silky foam
