Ramos Gin Fizz

Tennessee Williams

2 oz. gin

1 oz. half-and-half

¾ oz. simple syrup

½ oz. fresh lemon juice

½ oz. fresh lime juice

2 dashes of orange blossom water

1 egg white

Club soda, to top

Chill a Collins glass in the freezer.

Place all of the ingredients, except for the club soda, in a cocktail shaker and dry shake for 15 to 20 seconds.

Fill the shaker one-quarter of the way with ice and shake for 3 to 5 minutes.

Pour the cocktail into the chilled Collins glass, top with club soda until a foamy head forms, and enjoy.

The famed writer of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof had his characters in that play knocking back much bourbon over the course of an evening, but in his personal life, he seems to have been fond of the Ramos Gin Fizz, which dates back to 1888 in New Orleans, and is a classic Southern drink. Esquire magazine once noted: “If the Sidecar is jazz, the Ramos Fizz is ragtime.”

It can be distinguished from the standard Gin Fizz by the addition of dairy and orange blossom water, which add new levels of flavor and texture to the traditional drink.