Bar Necessities
The catalog
Notable Classics

Sloe Gin Fizz

Pink, fizzy, mysterious

Glass Collins
Method Shaken
Garnish Lemon Wheel

Sloe gin's plummy sweetness cut by lemon and soda. Like drinking Christmas in a glass, but less festive.

Ingredients

Method

Shake sloe gin, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice. Strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Top with soda water. Garnish with lemon wheel.

Documented in a 1941 Esquire article featuring Lawton Mackall's account, per David Wondrich's research. Often cited in cocktail literature as appearing in Sunset Magazine (1898), though this origin remains unverified from primary sources. The drink is a sloe-gin variant of the classic Gin Fizz (mid-19th century, Jerry Thomas, 1876), using sloe gin in place of standard gin while retaining the base of lemon juice, simple syrup, and soda water. Per Difford's Guide #1780; Per IBA (Gin Fizz in The Unforgettables list, though Sloe Gin Fizz itself is not IBA-official). Notes: no individual inventor identified; egg white is a modern variant, not confirmed in original recipe; earliest verifiable documentation is 1941 Esquire via Wondrich, not 1898 Sunset.

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