Make every night special with Bartender Becky Reynolds' Cranberry Fizz! This tantalizing cocktail brings just the right amount of sweet and tart to your glass. Let Becky's skill for crafting drinks be your guide to a delightful evening!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Reverse dry shake: Shaking with ice first, then straining and shaking again without it for two minutes, builds a dense, creamy foam.
- Heavy cream in the mix: A small amount of cream adds a velvety body and helps the foam hold together.
- Rest-and-rise pour: Letting the drink sit for 3 minutes lets the foam separate and climb, so the sparkling juice can lift it above the rim.
- Citrus and gin balance: Equal parts lemon and lime keep the sweetness in check and let the juniper note of the gin come through.
Cranberry Fizz
Britt Shoffner
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Sometimes you can actually taste the hard work and love put into a cocktail. This rings true every time you have a drink at Cana Wine & Cocktails. Bartender Becky Reynolds brings the same care and love to every cocktail she shakes up. Her Cranberry Fizz is so good, we weren’t sure that she would share the recipe with us. But that’s the kind of gal she is. Consider yourself lucky.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Junipero Gin
- 1 oz Simple syrup
- 0.75 oz heavy cream
- 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 large egg white
- Sparkling cranberry juice, to top
- 1 small sprig of rosemary
Directions
- Combine all the ingredients (except sparkling cranberry juice) to a shaker with ice. With the pint glass and shaker, shake mixture for thirty seconds, and strain into the pint glass.
- Remove the ice from the shaker and pour mixture back into shaker and dry shake (without ice) vigorously for 2 minutes.
Pour into Riedel Fizz Glass (no need for a strainer since you’ve strained the ice out already), and let sit for 3 minutes to allow the foam to separate and rise to the top.
- Gently pour the sparkling cranberry juice into the center of the drink until the foam raises about an inch above the rim of the glass. Garnish with a small spring of rosemary to serve.
A fizz for the holidays! Bartending hero Becky Reynolds walks us through her techniques for making the perfect fizz. Follow these instructions, and you, too, can become a fizz whiz!
Becky told us that she was initially daunted by fizzes, which are riddled with technique. After making a few dozen, she nailed down her recipe:
2 oz Junipero Gin
1 oz Simple Syrup
1 Egg White
1/2 oz Lemon Juice, 1/2 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Heavy Cream
Here is Becky, mid-shake, with her game face on. The purpose of this initial shake is to chill the ingredients while also creating an emulsion.
Once that exciting minute has passed, strain the mixture, and dump out the ice. The next step is to dry shake (without ice) for two full minutes. Yes, two whole minutes. Becky will be the first to tell you this drink is a proper workout. She says once her right arm begins to tucker out, she’ll switch arms and keep going. Here she shows us her technique:
Many fizz recipes will have you dry shake (without ice) initially, then shake with ice the second time, but Becky assures us that reversing this process creates a better foam in the end.
After the two minutes have passed, pour out the mixture into a fizz glass, all the way to the top. It should be creamy and foamy with tiny bubbles throughout. The concoction now has to sit for three minutes. The foam will begin to separate and rise to the top of the glass, leaving the gin elixir to settle at the bottom.
And now for the magic! Carefully add a splash of sparkling cranberry juice. (If the juice won’t go through the barrier of foam, you can use a cocktail stirrer to poke a hole through the top.) If you did all of your homework, the payoff should be foam magically rising straight out of the vertical glass, with no spillover.
It’s really imperative to use these drink-specific fizz glasses. Their tall and vertical shape allows the foam to rise without compromising its form. It has nowhere to go but up.
Garnish with a tiny sprig of rosemary and you’re on your way to a fantastic holiday treat!
“Go flex your biceps in the mirror and admire the fruits of your labor.” -Becky Reynolds
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why shake with ice first, then strain and shake again without ice?
The first shake chills the ingredients and forms an emulsion. Straining out the ice and shaking again for two minutes whips the egg white and cream into a thicker, longer-lasting foam than the usual order of dry shaking first.
Why shake the second time for a full two minutes?
Extended shaking is what builds the dense, tiny-bubbled foam that the finished drink depends on. Shorter shakes tend to leave a thin, quickly collapsing head.
Why let the drink sit for 3 minutes before adding the sparkling juice?
The rest lets the foam separate from the liquid and rise to the top, leaving the gin mixture at the bottom so the sparkling juice can push the foam upward.
Why pour the sparkling cranberry juice into the center of the drink?
Pouring gently into the middle lets the juice slip under the foam and lift it above the rim without spilling over. If the juice won't break through the foam, a cocktail stirrer can poke a small hole.
Why use a tall, narrow fizz glass?
Its vertical shape gives the foam nowhere to go but up as the juice is added, so it rises straight above the glass instead of spreading out.
Is it safe to drink a cocktail made with raw egg white?
The egg white is shaken but never cooked, so it carries a small salmonella risk. Using pasteurized egg whites removes that concern, and it's a good idea for anyone who is pregnant, elderly, very young, or has a weakened immune system.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
5 out of 5. It's a shaker-and-glass cocktail that needs no grill, stove, or oven.
Recipe Highlights
Reverse dry shake: Builds a thick, creamy foam.
Cream-enriched base: Adds velvety body to the drink.
3-minute rest: Lets the foam separate and rise.
Sparkling cranberry top-off: Lifts the foam above the rim.
