The IBA Project: Gin Fizz

A  happy glass of  Gin Fizz

The Grandfather Story:
One of the oldest classic drinks originating from the late 1800s. A Fizz is pretty much a cocktail (the base spirit could be a gin, whiskey, brandy or vodka) which contains carbonated water and citrus. The Gin Fizz is actually a variation of the John Collins (also an IBA cocktail) - the only difference between these two cocktails is that John Collins is served in a highball glass with ice, and the Ginz Fizz is served in a chilled tumbler ( a smaller glass than a highball), without ice.

Strength:
Not strong. Sour and carbonated, it actually tastes like lemonade ... with alcohol.

IBA standard recipe & method: 
Recipe:
4.5 cl Gin
3 cl Fresh lemon juice
1 cl Sugar syrup
8 cl Soda water

Method:
Shake all ingredients with ice cubes, except soda water. Pour into tumbler (whiskey glass). Top up with soda water. Garnish with lemon slice.

Someone's gotta taste this.

Variations: 

• Many recipes calls for 2 shots of gin (60ml)
• Some recipes puts in more sugar and cuts down on the lemon. I prefer this.
• No lemon? You could try using lime. Lime and gin go together like vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.
• The original recipe uses superfine sugar, instead of syrup... you just gotta shake it harder.
• Apparently, the ORIGINAL recipe from the 1800s calls for Genever gin. Not impossible to attain, just quite freaking difficult. So a normal London Dry will do.
• Include an egg white and it's called a Silver Fizz
• Include an egg yolk and it's a Gold Fizz
• Royal Fizz = whole egg included
• Diamond Fizz is when you replace soda with champaign.
• Add a dash of green mint creme and you get a Green Fizz

Thoughts & Observations:

• IBA's version, too little gin. Can't get the taste of gin as the citrus completely overpowers it. Either that or I'm just an alkie who likes her drinks strong, hehe. I mean, what's the point of drinking a cocktail if I can't taste the spirit? Might as well just have a packet of juice, right?
• Also their version makes it too lemony. Less tart and a bit more sugar preferred
• Using a chilled tumbler keeps the drink for cooler slightly longer. It also makes your first few sip damn awesome on a hot sweaty day when the ice cold glass touches your lips. 
• Drink it fast, otherwise the Malaysian heat melts it away and the gas will escape and all you're left with is a flat, sour, lukewarm drink which is blah.

For shizzle, mah fizzle.

My Preference: 
6 cl Gin (I used Gordon's, which is a london dry)
3 cl Fresh lemon juice
1.5 cl Sugar syrup
Top up with Soda water
Served in chilled glass with some cubes of large ice.

Sources & for more:
http://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/754/fizz-generic-name
http://www.artofdrink.com/recipes/cocktail/gin-fizz-or-tom-collins/
http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Gin_Fizz
http://gincocktails.net/gin-fizz


Click me for the list of drinks that's been covered in the IBA Project