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Rich, velvety, and slightly tart, the Ruby Fizz cocktail looks and tastes impressive, but is surprisingly simple to make.
This post is sponsored with the alcohol delivery service Drizly. All opinions are my own. Cheers!
THE SAVOY = THE BEST
You all know that The Savoy Cocktail Book is my go to for a good retro cocktail. I love the delightfully citrusy Abbey Cocktail and my all time favorite The Seventh Heaven both come from it. So it shouldn’t be surprising that this version of the Ruby Fizz was inspired by the cocktail in the Savoy.
This recipe from 1930's was almost perfect. The main change I made was with the sugar. Instead of powdered sugar, I used simple syrup. It’s something I always have laying around, and I don’t have to worry about it mixing well with the other ingredients.
The second thing I changed was the mixing technique. The original just calls to toss everything into a shaker, shake it up, and serve. Does that work? Absolutely, but you don’t get as large of a silky meringue foam if you do a dry shake first…and size matters.
SHAKE IT DRY
What’s a dry shake you ask? Why, let me tell you, love!
A dry shake is used when a cocktail calls for eggs as an ingredient. You shake all of the ingredients of a cocktail together…except for the ice. Skipping the ice makes it “dry,” and after that first dry shake we add some ice and shake again.
The reason for doing this two-step shake method is to help combine the egg with the rest of the ingredients. This really helps the texture of the cocktail. The second shake with the ice obviously helps chill your delicious cocktail.
EGG-ING IT UP FOR YEARS
Feeling odd about putting that egg in your drink? Well, you shouldn’t! We have been putting eggs in drinks since the Middle Ages. Back then, the drink was a Posset, which apparently is the precursor of Eggnog.[note]Bramen, Lisa. "Pass the Posset: The Medieval Eggnog." Smithsonian.com. December 08, 2010. Accessed March 30, 2017. http://bit.ly/2odxuQ6.[/note]
According to the Alcohol Professor, it was during the late 19th century when eggs found their way into cocktails. Flips, fizzes, sours, and nogs traditionally all use a portion of the egg to either add a silky texture (from the white) or richer flavor (from the yolk).[note]"The History of Egg Cocktails, Unscrambled." The Alcohol Professor. March 24, 2016. Accessed March 30, 2017. http://bit.ly/2odElsE.[/note]
HELLO TOP SHELF BLOGGER
As I’m sure you noticed above, this post was brought to you by the letter “D,” for my friends at Drizly. I recently joined their Top Shelf Blogger program, which is pretty awesome. For me, this means I’ll be partnering with this fun company and sharing more delicious cocktail recipes here! For you, this means that you’ll be seeing a few posts here and there sponsored by Drizly.
Basically…more retro cocktails for us all! As always, I’ll share my honest opinions on services and products and will never recommend something I don’t believe in. I love you all too much to share something I don’t like!
Okay, love, it’s definitely 5 o’clock where you’re at. So I say whip up a Ruby Fizz, snap a pic, and tag me @cupofzest when you post it on Instagram. Then make sure to enjoy the rest of your evening, you deserve it!
P.S. Snag Spirit Works Sloe Gin from Drizly here and Jack Rudy’s Grenadine here. Both of those products are top notch!
1930’s RUBY FIZZ RECIPE TIPS
-Want to get all sciencey about eggs in your cocktails? I just did, and recommend you read both Part 1 and Part 2 of Serious Eats articles about using eggs in cocktails. It’s great.
-You can use any shaker for this recipe, but I’ve fallen in love with the Boston shaker. If you’ve never used one, I highly recommend it. It works much better than the Cobbler style I was using previously. It was tricky to get the hang of, but with a little practice, you’ll get the hang of it! Plus…you’ll look just like the sexy bartender from the speakeasy when you shake a cocktail.
-If after reading the Serious Eats articles you are still unsure about raw eggs in your drink, you can absolutely use pasteurized liquid egg whites. You’ll need about three tablespoons of liquid egg whites, but just know that the foam won’t be as impressive.
Ruby Fizz Cocktail
Ingredients
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 egg white
- 1 ½ ounces sloe gin Spirit Works Distillery has a great sloe gin
- 1 tablespoon granadine I prefer Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. Small Batch Granadine
- 1 teaspoon simple syrup
- 2-3 ice cubes
- Soda Water
Instructions
- Combine lemon juice, egg white, sloe gin, grenadine, and simple syrup in a shaker.
- Vigorously shake for about 1 minute.
- Add ice cubes and shake until cubes melt (you'll know they have melted once you don't hear them clanking around in the shaker).
- Pour into a glass and top off with soda water. Enjoy!
Lynn says
This sounds amazing and I need one asap!
Michelle Ferrand says
Yay, thanks! I wish I could make on for you <3