The Ramos Gin Fizz

The Ramos Gin Fizz was invented sometime around 1890 by Henry Charles "Carl" Ramos at his Imperial Cabinet saloon in New Orleans. It includes lemon and lime juice, egg white, cream, and orange flower water, and, shaken properly, it becomes a foamy white concoction that has been called "the nectar of New Orleans," "the Cadillac of Cocktails," and "the Crescent City's most notable contribution to civilized tippling." This book offers a history of the drink and a biography of its inventor, starting with the early years in which the Ramos Gin Fizz became nationally famous as a New Orleans icon. Although Prohibition almost put an end to it in New Orleans, it survived elsewhere—for instance, at the Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo—and after Prohibition's repeal, the drink quickly recovered and was once again a New Orleans favorite. In the 1940s and '50s, it became known as a sophisticated and glamorous drink, popular with celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Tennessee Williams.