The fizz. It’s a simple thing, really. A cousin of the sour family, the fizz first appeared in Jerry Thomas’ 1887 bar guide, and is a simple mix of liquor, acidic juice and carbonated water. Probably the most common incarnation is the gin fizz, which is made of gin, lemon juice, sugar, and fizzy water. (It’s such a staple that it’s an official cocktail of the International Bartenders Association World Cocktail Competition). Drinks like the Ramos Fizz or the Trader Vic’s Rum Fizz include egg, a common variation on the fizz theme—which also results in a new class of names: “silver” if you use egg white, “gold” for egg yolk, “royal” for a whole egg.

Trader Vic dedicates an entire chapter of his Bartender’s Guide to the various forms of fizzes, stipulating that they are, in their essence, a morning-after, hair-of-the-dog pick-me-up, and that you should very carefully follow the recipe, lest you drown your hangover in too much of the dog bite.

1 ¼ oz lemon juice
¾ oz lime juice
1 ounce gin
2 ½ teaspoons bar sugar
club soda
dash Herbsaint

Shake lemon juice, lime juice, gin and sugar with ice. Pour into a tall highball glass, fill with soda and add Herbsaint.

Even though I felt perfectly fine when I made this, I can say with some certainty that if I were faced with this first thing the morning after, I probably wouldn’t make it to the afternoon. It’s not that it’s strong so much as that it’s tart and acidic, two things which really don’t do well for a rocky stomach. When I’m feeling nautical, the very last thing I want is a big glass of citrus juice.

Aside from that, though, this is a lovely summer drink. Light and very tart, it’s another one that would be lovely in the late afternoon when the evening is warm and soft. The lime and sugar temper the brighter flavor of the lemon nicely, but still allow plenty of tart to complement (or combat) the herbaceousness of the Herbsaint. Overall, just delicious, especially with some nice fresh red currants.