The Ramos Gin Fizz was created in the late 19th century by Henry C. Ramos at his bar, the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, in New Orleans. Debuted around 1888, the drink emerged from the city’s fertile cocktail culture, where bartenders were experimenting with citrus, spirits and egg whites to achieve novel textures and flavours. Noted for its delicate foam and creamy mouthfeel, the Ramos Gin Fizz became a signature of New Orleans hospitality, served in an era when cocktails were theatrical and bartending was a craft. Its laborious preparation, once requiring a team of shakers for peak froth, only added to the mystique, turning it into an icon of American cocktail history.

The classic Ramos Gin Fizz combines gin, fresh lemon and lime juice, sugar, cream, egg white, orange flower water, and soda water. The interplay of citrus, sugar and egg white creates a silky foam, while the cream and orange flower water lend aromatic richness and softness that distinguish it from other fizzes. The drink rose to widespread fame in the early 20th century, particularly during the 1910s when Ramos trained bartenders and the drink’s reputation for requiring a long, vigorous shake, sometimes 10 minutes or more, made it a must order novelty. Its popularity waned with Prohibition but resurged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as cocktail revivalism celebrated classic recipes and the craftsmanship behind them.