Reinvent The Classic Gin Fizz With An Unexpected Fizzy Swap

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Something about the words "gin fizz" elicits excitement. The fizz of it all promises a sparkling, celebratory beverage. A relatively simple recipe with such a refreshing, delicious end result, it's no wonder the gin fizz is such a classic. But playing with the classics is just as worthwhile as enjoying them — it's how clever bartenders invent new drinks, and how we can learn what flavor combinations we love best, while also wowing our cocktail party guests.

We wanted to see if it was possible to swap out the fizz factor in this gin cocktail, what might work instead, and why. Expert Kaitlyn Stewart, author of the upcoming "Three Cheers: Cocktails Three Ways: Classics, Riffs, and Zero-Proof Sips," filled us in.

"A fizz is a style of cocktail," Stewart explains. "It is a 'sour' consisting of a spirit, citrus, sweetener, and usually carbonated water. You can certainly replace the carbonated water with another bubbly beverage, like beer. For a gin fizz, I'd go with something on the lighter side like a lager. You don't want the beer to overpower the sour, but rather [complement] it."

Gin fizzes traditionally call for gin, lemon or lime juice, simple syrup, and soda water. Purists also include an egg white; when shaken together, you get a pillowy cloud of froth on top of the fizz. A lighter lager can itself bring both the effervescence and creamy foam, while contributing flavor complexity with notes of sweet grain and floral, herbaceous, or fruity hops.

The gin fizz is one of our favorite cocktails for gin lovers. But the sky's the limit on fun variations.

"Think of the gin fizz as a template," Stewart says. "Spirit, citrus, sweetener, bubbles. Play around with all of the different elements." That's why a beer works as your "fizz" — it's a uniquely flavored form of carbonation for the cocktail. While remembering you don't want to overwhelm the gin or citrus flavors, you can try other subtly flavor-forward beers like fruited blonde ales or wheat beers. The gin fizz is one of many great drinks to mix with hard seltzer, as any variety would pop the cocktail with a burst of fruit flavor. Non-alcoholic seltzer would, alternatively, help lower the drink's ABV. You can make the gin fizz entirely booze-free, Stewart notes, with soda water or non-alcoholic lager and 0.0% Tanqueray Gin or Ritual Zero Proof Gin Alternative.

The citrus and sweetener elements offer plenty of opportunity, too. Stewart recommends acidified orange or pineapple juice for your citrus. For sweeteners, upgrade a homemade simple syrup with anything you love from herbs like rosemary, mint, or basil, to flowers like rose, lavender, or hibiscus, to fruits like raspberry or strawberry. Consider fun combos — for example, gin with a watermelon seltzer, lime juice, and mint simple syrup. You can even split the gin base with a spirit like tequila, along with a jalapeño syrup and mango juice or seltzer.