Grand Fizz
Gin, Grand Marnier, lemon and a little sugar, shaken and topped with soda. The Gin Fizz with cognac-orange — richer than the plain fizz, and the fizz to make when the Grand Marnier is open.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Add the gin, Grand Marnier, lemon juice and simple syrup to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
Strain into a chilled highball glass without ice.
Top with chilled soda and express an orange twist over the top.
A thoughtful finish
- A quarter-ounce of syrup; the Grand Marnier is sweet.
- Serve without ice, as a fizz should be, and drink it quickly.
- Champagne in place of soda makes it a Grand 75.
Common mistakes
- Too much Grand Marnier, which makes it cloying.
- Flat soda.
- Bottled lemon.
A few good questions.
What does a Grand Fizz taste like?
A Gin Fizz with a rich cognac-orange note — tart, light and a little richer than the plain one.
Grand Marnier or Cointreau?
Grand Marnier's cognac base gives it weight; Cointreau makes a lighter, sweeter fizz.
Can I add egg white?
Yes; dry shake first for a Grand Silver Fizz.
Fizz or Collins?
A fizz is shaken and served short without ice; a Collins is built over ice.
Variations
- Gin Fizz — Gin, lemon, sugar and soda.
- French 75 — Gin, lemon, sugar and champagne.
- Tom Collins — Gin, lemon, sugar and soda over ice.
- Blood Orange Gin Fizz — Gin, blood orange, lemon and soda.
Where it comes from
c. 2000s · United States
The Gin Fizz is an 1870s drink and its orange-liqueur versions are nearly as old — the Savoy has a Gin Fizz with curaçao — but the Grand Fizz as a named drink belongs to the 2000s, when Grand Marnier’s marketing and the craft bars put the liqueur into fizzes and 75s: gin with a half-ounce of Grand Marnier, lemon, a touch of sugar, shaken and topped with soda in a highball. The liqueur’s cognac base gives the fizz a richness that Cointreau does not, and the orange sits well with gin’s juniper and the lemon. Some versions use champagne in place of soda, which makes it a Grand 75. It is a brunch fizz with a little more weight than the plain one.
Sources
- Difford's Guide, Grand Fizz, 2012 (reference)
- Liquor.com, Grand Marnier Fizz, 2020 (reference)
- Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930 (book)
Strength. About 1.43 US standard drinks at an estimated 13.8% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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