The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess

FYI: The recipe on the left and the recipe at the end of the video are missing Orange Flower Water.

What size eggs do you recommend using?

Can’t wait to give this one a try!

this brings back memories of new years day past… my old man spiffed up these for the boys after the long previous eve, when i came of age i encouraged him to rekindle the spirits of nyd past… i encurage you all to give it a whirl.

I can’t wait to try this.  I had to have one last week so I made one using this recipe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj417erX2W8
and it was really tasty.  I can’t wait to try yours.

Hey robbert, nice video again.. always watching with a lot of plessure… One (little) tip… When I need a fresh egg (white or yolk) I take a tumbler and a strainer, put it up side down on the glass (springs up) and smash it in the glass… The white will go into the glass and the yolk will stay in the strainer… With this kind of handling you won’t get dirty hands....

Keep on the good work… Greetz from the Netherlands

@Martin,
Thanks for the tip, I’ll give that a try!
-Robert

A Ramos Gin Fizz is traditionally serverd straight up, without ice.
And btw, your “old” ebay lemon squeezer was far better than this rickety kegworks thing…

greetings from germany

Another true classic drink, one of my favorites.  The Ramos Fizz makes a lovely and very light dessert. 

I’ve been reading David Wondrich’s /Imbibe!/ and held off on watching this until I’d finished his chapter on Fizzes.  Your Fizz segments complement the book well. 

On to the Bucks Fizz....

BTW Robert, thanks for the tip about shaking “dry” first to emulsify the ingredients.  Great wisdom there. 

Oh, and why do you shake the soda siphon before using it?

@Huhu - Correct, originally a Fizz was served in a “Delmonico” glass, without ice. But over time they have come to be served with ice as well. More often than not these days you’ll see them served with ice, and personally I don’t have a problem with that.

@Thomas - I give my soda siphon a shake to ideally increase the pressure a bit in it. Note that doing this in a normal twist top bottle isn’t a good idea, but in a siphon it will increase the pressure thus also the force at which the soda will come out.

Doesn’t the citrus curdle the cream? Or is that desirable in this drink? Just wondering.

Now we are starting to get into the “Molecular Mixology” (MM) side of things. Not because curdled drinks are some new bit of MM ‘flair’, but because thinking through, and experimenting with, exactly what is happening as the drink is being made is what MM is all about.

And to be honest, figuring out what is going on with the cream and citrus isn’t something I’ve looked into here.

But yes, citrus will curdle cream, in fact this is the process for making simple cheeses. Bring some milk to a simmer, then add some citrus, and you’ll eventually get some curds which you can then compress into a simple cheese. Indian “Panir” to be specific, which is similar to Mozerella.

A Ramos Gin Fizz isn’t a “curdled” drink. It has a nice foamy consistency. Does the chill inhibit curdling? Or is it the violent shaking which instead combines the milk and egg proteins such that they don’t bunch up? Might be worth a little experimentation.

Wonder what Harold McGee or Alton Brown might have to say about this.

-Robert

Having read the comments before giving the recipe a try, I kept my eyes on the shaker after adding the cream after the citrus, and it sure looked curdled! But once I shook, shook, and shook some more, I can’t say it tastes curdled. More like having a soft citrus and orange water flavored whipped cream on top. Absolutely worth the effort.

Thanks for the encouragement to try another classic recipe, Robert!

Hi Robert,

I’ve been trying without success to make a foamy egg white drink (you can see my first attempt at: http://culinariaeugenius.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/april-showers-bring-may-flowers/ ).  The second attempt was better, but not anything near what you accomplished here.  I shook it more than you did without the ice, then only did a few shakes with the ice.  I’m kind of wimpy and noticed your shaking was really vigorous—I wonder if that’s the secret.  I’m also using a small shaker (I have small hands).  Maybe the likker needs more space?  Any ideas would be appreciated…

Regards,
Eugenia

Eugenia, Have you ever tried to whip up eggwhites by hand? Essentially, this is what you are doing when making this, or other foamy egg-white drinks.

So yes, a very energetic and long shake is needed for this drink. I would also recommend something bigger than a “small” shaker. Not sure what size you have, but I often see steak restaurants making their Martini’s in “half-size” shakers, which they bring out to the table and shake them up tableside with… Those shakers are worthless, there isn’t any way you can really get the proper chill with them (and of course you shouldn’t shake a Martini to begin with).

Remember, you can always use two hands to shake your drinks, in which case it would be hard to find a shaker which was “too big”.

-Robert

Thanks, Robert.  I appreciate your comment.  I’ll give it another go.  My shaker isn’t half-size—I’d say more like 3/4-size.  I’ve been shopping for a new one but haven’t found the one that fits perfectly in my hand.  I do think a larger one would work better, for precisely the reason whipping egg whites by hand works better with a big whisk, more aeration. 

Regards,
Eugenia