The Selvarey Chicago Fizz

Selvarey Chicago Fizz. Today’s drink is the most deliciously nutritious and possibly (though not definitely) the last of the cocktails we’ll be featuring here with a base booze provided by the skilled distillers of Selvarey White Rum. If you missed my earlier experiments with this brand, all I can say is that it’s a genuine Panamanian treat from a company which also boasts darn good taste in cocktails.

The Selvarey Chicago Fizz differs from most of the other Chicago Fizz recipes you’ll find online in that’s it’s made with Selvarey White Rum, instead of a sweeter dark rum. The result is a beverage that’s almost perfectly balanced between sweet and tart flavors. I’m not sure about actually curing a hangover, but if you’re determined to have a cocktail in the morning, which means you’re either drinking too much, on vacation, or both, this may be the most outstanding choice possible.

The Selvarey Chicago Fizz

1 ounce Selvarey White Rum
1 ounce tawny port wine
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1 raw egg white or 1 ounce of pasteurized egg white
1/2 ounce simple syrup or 2 1/2 teaspoons superfine sugar
Soda water

Combine all the ingredients except the soda water in a cocktail shaker, without ice. “Dry shake” without the ice to emulsify the egg. Then shake again, very vigorously and now with plenty of ice. Strain into a chilled Tom Collins-style glass. Top off with that soda water (preferably chilled) you’ve been holding back and you’ll find yourself with a nice “head” on your fizz. Sipp and salute the concept of carbonated water, without which life would be just a little bit more flat.

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I usually talk about ingredients in this section, but this time I’ll offer a note about your bartending equipment first. You’ll likely have better results with your Chicago Fizz if you use an old fashioned separate cocktail strainer like the pro bartenders use, rather than the built in kind. The pre-fizz portion of the drink is thick enough that’s it’s tricky to get out of those tiny holes at the top of the shaker. Regular readers will remember that I’ve made many drinks with egg whites, but this seemed to be more of an issue this week than with other egg white cocktails — either that, or I’m just losing my patience.

Fizzes are an entire mixed drink category I’ve barely touched on. What’s interesting is that the inclusion of relatively small amount of soda water renders a pretty massive change, and I don’t just mean bubbles.

A cocktail featuring an egg white usually has a lovely, soft and milky texture. Adding the fizzy water, however, causes the egg white to separate from the rest of the drink, which produces a head which is similar to what you might find in root beer or, even more to the point, that non-alcoholic New York/Jewish deli favorite, an egg cream. (If you know your deli beverages, you’re aware that an egg cream  contains chocolate syrup but no egg and no cream, but it has a very nice foamy head owing to the presence of milk and seltzer.)

In the case of the Selvarey Chicago Fizz, or the Jacques Straub 1914 take on the Chicago Fizz to the boozy historians, the result is fruity, not too sweet and — relatively speaking — not too heavy on the booze. In fact, it’s so not too sweet that I wouldn’t blame you if you amped up the amount of simple syrup or sugar.

Finally, it is definitely permissible to try this with other brands of white rum. I gave it a shot with a far older premium brand and, while I preferred the lighter, sweeter touch of the Selvarey, it wasn’t bad with Brand X. In any case, using a rum to your liking, not to mention a good tawny port (not my particular area of expertise; I used a brand called Almiro), will likely yield a better drink. Follow your instincts.

  

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