Cocktail: Sloe Gin Fizz

"Well Portland, Oregon and Sloe Gin Fizz. If that ain't love, then tell me what is, uh-huh..."

I can't drink a Sloe Gin Fizz without getting Loretta Lynn and Jack White's rollicking song "Portland Oregon" stuck in my head. Although I hadn't actually had a Sloe Gin Fizz until recently. It strikes me as the kind of old fashioned drink that many people have heard about but never had. I decided it was time to correct that.

The Washington Post's spirits columnist Jason Wilson wrote a nice piece about sloe gin 4 years ago when Plymouth Sloe Gin was first becoming available in the United States. It sounds like before then, Americans didn't have regular access to good sloe gin. Calvert-Woodley, where I bought the Plymouth Sloe Gin I used for this recipe carried that and a second clearly inferior variety.

Some recipes for Sloe Gin Fizz call for raw egg white, but it's perfectly acceptable to make it without that as I did. It still gets fizzy from the topping of club soda. I adapted my recipe from that of the Washington Post, adding a little more simple syrup and some Angostura bitters. Some recipes call for powdered sugar instead of simple syrup and others use a blend of sloe gin and traditional gin.

Sloe Gin Fizz
Adapted from Sloe Gin Fizz, The Washington Post

2 oz. sloe gin (Plymouth)
1 oz. lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
1/2 oz. simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Club soda (about 3 oz.)
Lemon or orange wedge garnish (optional)

Combine sloe gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake well until cold. Pour into a collins glass with ice. Top with club soda and, if desired, a lemon or orange wedge garnish.