The Spirit World

Easter doesn’t really have a cocktail that is traditionally associated with it, unless you would count something like a Mimosa which you might have at Easter Brunch. Easter is however associated with eggs, and there are several cocktail recipes which also use eggs, so I thought I’d introduce you to a “family” of mixed drinks which would often include eggs as an ingredient.

Note that we aren’t talking about cooked eggs here, but raw. To the best of my knowledge there aren’t any cocktails which use cooked eggs, unless you might use one as a garnish in a Bloody Mary. You might have a concern regarding the use of raw eggs, either just from a squeamish standpoint, or from a fear of salmonella. Tremendous strides have been made regarding the safety of eggs, and while the possibility of encountering salmonella tainted egg isn’t at 0%, it is so low as to be extremely rare. For that reason you may choose to use “pasteurized in the shell” eggs, or perhaps skip the drinks presented in this article all together. Myself, I never hesitate to use a raw egg in any cocktail that calls for it.

This week I’d like to introduce you to the “Fizz” drink category. One version of this drink that you may be familiar with is The Ramos Gin Fizz which always includes an egg white in the recipe. A normal “Fizz” however is normally egg free.

It is easy confuse a “Fizz” with a “Collins”. Both drinks use essentially the same recipe, but with one crucial difference. In a Collins the ingredients are simply poured into the glass and briefly stirred, the result being a relatively clear and refreshing drink. The Fizz on the other hand is… well… “Fizzed”. This means that the sugar (or simple syrup), lemon juice, and spirit are first shaken well with ice, then strained into an ice filled Collins or Highball glass. To this charged water is forcibly sprayed into the glass, either from a soda siphon (which you have first shaken up to build up pressure), or by taking a bottle of soda water and giving it a quick shake with your thumb over the opening and then squirting it into the glass. The result is a definite foaming up that is quite different from a Collins.

You can use any spirit for making a Fizz, but the most commonly used one is Gin:

Gin Fizz

• 1/4 ounce simple syrup
• 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 ounces gin
• 2 ounces soda water

Shake the syrup, juice and gin well, then strain into an ice filled Collins or Highball glass.
Shake the soda siphon to build up pressure, then top the drink with soda so as to form a foamy head, and stir quickly to even increase the foam.

You might notice that I started this entry promising you a drink that incorporated egg. The Astute amongst you will notice however that the above recipe includes in fact no egg whatsoever. It is in the variations to the Fizz that the egg comes into play. There are in fact three variations: Silver Fizz, Golden Fizz, and Royal Fizz.

• A Silver Fizz is the same as listed above, but with the addition of a raw egg white.
• A Golden Fizz is the same as listed above, but with the addition of a raw egg yolk.
• A Royal Fizz is the same as listed above, but with the addition of a whole raw egg.
• And just for completeness sake, a Diamond Fizz is the same as above, but using Sparkling Wine instead of soda water.

So get into the Easter spirit this year and try a Royal Gin Fizz!