Also known as South Side Fizz, the South Side seems to have first been published by famous American bartender Harry Craddock in The Savoy Cocktail Book. His recipe called for dry gin, powdered sugar, the juice of half a lemon, and two sprigs of fresh mint, finished with a splash of siphon soda water. The birthplace is disputed among Jack & Charlie’s (now the 21 Club) in New York City, a forgotten speakeasy in the South Side of Chicago, and a Long Island country club in the late 1800s known as the South side Club. There is no controversy that the 21 Club has served more of these than anyone over the decades and they can lay claim to the South Side as their house cocktail. We’ve altered it a bit by replacing the powdered sugar with simple syrup and adding a splash of soda to the cocktail to “wake it up,” as some recipes dictate. We do not recommend double straining it; that would reduce the body and the ornamental presence of the shaken mint.

　　

Ingredients

makes 1 drink

　　2 ounces Plymouth gin

　　1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

　　1/2 ounce simple syrup (page 154)

　　2 mint sprigs

　　1 splash club soda

　　

Step 1

Put the gin, juice, syrup, and mint in a mixing glass. Add large cold ice cubes and shake vigorously. Open the shaker and add the club soda. Use a julep strainer to strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

　　

tasting notes

Step 2

Dominant Flavors: juniper-citrus bomb

　　

Step 3

Body: crisp, slightly effervescent

　　

Step 4

Dryness: medium to dry

　　

Step 5

Complexity: low

　　

Step 6

Accentuating or Contrasting Flavors: mint and Meyer lemon rind make this cocktail sing

　　

Step 7

Finish: short, clean, crisp

　　

Step 8

Glass: cocktail

　　Reprinted with permission from Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined by Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric, © 2010 Ten Speed Press. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.