Wednesday, May 18, 2011

rattlesnake fizz

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 tsp Sugar
1/4 oz Absinthe (Kübler)
1 Egg White

Stir sugar with lemon juice until dissolved. Add rest of ingredients and dry shake. Add ice, shake again, and strain into a Fizz glass containing 2 oz ginger ale (Hansen's). Top off with a little more ginger ale if needed. Garnish with drops of Angostura Bitters and add a straw.
Last Thursday, we were in the mood for something flavorful yet refreshing, so I opted to make the Rattlesnake Fizz from A Taste of Absinthe. Tim Stookey of the Presidio Social Club developed the drink recipe, and he soon realized that it was very similar to the Rattlesnake Cocktail in the Savoy Cocktail Book. Thus, Tim changed the name to reflect the convergence; his recipe contained ginger ale to donate flavor, lighten the drink, and replace some of the sugar used as a sweetener in the classic. The drink began with allspice and cinnamon notes from the Angostura Bitters on top of the egg white froth. While the sip was mainly the sweetened lemon flavor, the swallow contained a bit of complexity from the ginger, absinthe, and rye notes. Though the Rattlesnake Fizz was not as intense as many of the drinks in that absinthe book, the light absinthe and ginger flavors did add some intrigue to an otherwise traditional Whiskey Silver Fizz.

3 comments:

Sarah P said...

Is the egg white just for the foaminess? This drink sounds great otherwise, and I'm wondering if I could just leave it out...

frederic said...

Egg white is partially for foaminess as well as smooth mouthfeel and smoothing over flavors (including rough edges). Without the egg white, the drink is still definitely a Fizz and one that will work. You might have to reduce the absinthe in half to get the same effect though.

dave said...

If one wanted to get cheeky and play off the name, the Ango garnish could be reduced to two dots like fang marks.