Name: Southside Fizz Cocktail
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 6 Fresh Mint Leaves; 2 oz Gin; 0.5 oz Lemon Juice; 0.5 oz Lime Juice; 0.5 oz Simple Syrup; 2 oz Soda Water; Mint Sprig (garnish)

The Southside Fizz is the thirst quenching love child of a minty Mojito and handsome Tom Collins.

Our easy Southside Fizz cocktail recipe is the perfect muddled gin cocktail to serve on a hot summer day.

The eye-popping green coloured drink features herbaceous gin, fresh mint, tart lime and lemon juice and sparkle of soda water.

We love serving this cocktail in July and August, when you can easily pluck fresh mint from your backyard garden and muddle it into an ice-filled Collins or rocks glass!

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What Is A Southside Fizz Cocktail?

The creation of the Southside Fizz is a bar legend, said to have been created during Prohibition, in either a New York City speakeasy called Jack & Charlie’s, or at Manhattan’s storied Stork Club.

So what’s behind the name? The story goes the drink was created by Chicago Southside mobsters to make their bootleg liquor more palatable, while on the other side of town folks were drinking the Northside, a simple muddling of gin and ginger ale.

The truth seems to land at Snedecor’s Tavern in Long Island. An evolution of the Mint Julep, the Southside Fizz came to be in the 1890s when the Fizz was at the height of its popularity.

The traditional Southside Fizz recipe can be found in Hugo Ensslin’s 1916 book Recipes for Mixed Drinks, but over the years transformed into the South Side Rickey, which is served over cracked ice. More recently, the modern Southside Fizz is served straight up with soda.

There’s a similar version to this cocktail that includes cucumber called an Eastside. It’s normally served straight up like a Gimlet and without soda water.

Homemade Southside Fizz Cocktail recipe ingredients.

Southside Fizz Ingredients

Our Southside Fizz recipe is made with fresh and premium ingredients:

Gin: we suggest using Bombay Sapphire, The Botanist or Tanqueray.
Mint: the drink is muddled and garnished with fresh mint leaves.
Lime & Lemon Juice: we always suggest juicing fresh citrus as you’ll taste the difference. Do not use store bought lime or lemon juice!
Simple Syrup: sweetens the drink so it isn’t too tart.
Soda Water: gives the drink it’s distinctive fizz.

Serve this eye-popping green coloured gin cocktail in a handsome rocks glass.

Southside Fizz Cocktail Recipe Tips

This simple Southside Fizz recipe is easy to make at home, ready to serve in under 5 minutes.

We love serving this refreshing drink in the hot summer months, when you can pluck fresh mint straight out of your backyard garden. The eye-popping green-coloured cocktail is a crowd pleaser at garden parties, family barbecues and cottage cocktail hours.

Store your gin bottle in the freezer an hour before your guests arrive so you ensure the liquid is cool.

If you find the drink too tart feel free to add additional simple syrup or a splash of soda water to give it a delightful effervescent fizz.

The recipe below serves one person. If you’re hosting a large gathering feel free to multiply the ingredients by the number of guests and muddle the drink in a punch bowl or jug rather than a cocktail shaker.

We like to serve the cocktail in a rocks glass but Collins glasses are more traditional.

Garnish the cocktail with a sprig of fresh mint.

Best Selling Gin

Gin has certainly enjoyed a boom in popularity at cocktail bars in recent years. You’ll find fantastic premium gins distilled from Scotland to Muskoka. Here are some of the world’s best selling gins and some of our local small batch favourites:

Malfy Gin: is an Italian brand inspired by the scenic Amalfi Coast. Malfy produces a classic dry gin as well as flavoured bottles featuring lemon, grapefruit and blood orange.
Gordon’s Gin: The world’s top selling gin brand is owned by Diageo. The brand’s pink iteration has undoubtedly helped to fuel its success. Gordon’s has also unveiled a line of new innovative products including two “ultra-low-alcohol” pre-mixed gin and tonic sparkling beverages and Gordon’s Gin-infused popsicles.
Bombay Sapphire Gin: Bacardi-owned Bombay Sapphire is one of the worlds best-selling gins. Bombay Sapphire kicked off a new limited edition range with the launch of a gin inspired by summer in the English countryside.
Tanqueray: Diageo-owned Tanqueray launched a new marketing campaign developed to shift consumers’ attention from “gimmicks” to flavour and unveiled a range of bottled ready-to-drink gin and tonics, made with its London Dry Gin and Flor de Sevilla Distilled Gin.
Beefeater Gin: Pernod Ricard’s flagship gin brand is Beefeater. The brand launched strawberry-flavoured Beefeater Pink in 2018 and further expanded its portfolio with the debut of a new blood orange-flavoured gin.
The Botanist: is produced by Bruichladdich Distillery on the Isle of Islay in Scotland. The famous Islay Scotch Distillery produces an aromatic gin whose ingredients are sourced locally.
Aviation Gin: is an American dry gin produced in Portland, Oregon. Canadian heartthrob from Vancouver, Ryan Reynolds is one of the distillery’s owners, swoon!
Edinburgh Gin: This craft distillery in Edinburgh produces a parade of flavoured gin bottles including rhubarb & ginger gin, raspberry gin, bramble & honey gin, black currant & anise, strawberry & pink peppercorn and pomegranate & rose.
Dillon’s Distillery: This Beamsville producer makes small batch gins including rose gin, cherry gin and strawberry gin.
Muskoka Brewery: This Ontario craft brewery produces a London Dry and spicy pink peppercorn gin.

Travel to Taste the World’s Best Gins

There’s no better way to familiarize yourself with a Southside Fizz then by planning a vacation to visit the world’s best gin distilleries.

The world’s most famous gins can be found in the United Kingdom as well as neighbouring Ireland. The booming gin trend has produced a high demand for premium gins produced by distilleries in Canada and America.

We’ve visited a handful of gin distilleries in Britain as well as a chic gin cocktail bar at the Shangri-La Hotel in Taipei. The gin craze has officially travelled from England to North America, Asia and beyond!

In Scotland we visited Edinburgh Gin for a tour and tasting before enjoying a road trip to the Isle of Islay, which is best known for its famous Islay whisky distilleries. One of the best things to do on the Isle of Islay is pay a visit to Bruichladdich Distillery, which produces its signature whisky as well as Botanist Gin.

In Brighton we visited a tiny micro-distillery called Brighton Gin, one of the best things to do in Brighton for G&T fans. We also stayed at the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire to sip our way through the jaw-dropping home of renowned Bombay Sapphire.

Looking to plan the ultimate road trip of Canada to discover the best gins?

Our favourite Canadian gins include Ungava in Quebec, Tawse and Dillon’s in Niagara, Muskoka Brewery in Ontario cottage country, Kinsip House of Fine Spirits in Prince Edward County, North of 7 in Ottawa, Dixon’s in Guelph, Eau Claire Distillery in Alberta, Blackfox in Saskatoon, Ironworks Gin in Nova Scotia and Long Table Distillery in British Columbia.

This refreshing Southside Fizz is one of our favourite summer gin cocktails.

Best Bartender Tools & Cocktail Equipment

Before hosting a swanky Southside Fizz soiree you’ll need to ensure you have the best bartender tools and cocktail equipment.

Cocktail Kit: cocktail kits are the perfect gift for newbie mixology fans as they include basic bartender tools like a jigger, shaker and spoon.
Cocktail Shaker: a bartenders best friend. Purchase a premium cocktail shaker to muddle or shake up your favourite pink gin cocktails.
Cocktail Glassware: make sure your bar is stocked with a selection of unique glassware to show off your favourite cocktail creations.
Hawthorne Strainer: this unique strainer features tightly wound coils and perforated holes. It keeps ice and other large ingredients like lime wedges in your cocktail shaker rather than in the glass.
Bar Spoons: slender and long bar spoons are a must-have when stirring drinks.
Bottle Opener: easily open bottles of beer or cider with the flick of your wrist or purchase a corkscrew for fine wine.
Pouring Spout: once you’ve opened a new bottle of gin insert these affordable pourers to make cocktail assembly a breeze.
Cutting Board: purchase a petite cutting board for your bar to slice garnishes or citrus wedges like lime, orange, lemon or grapefruit.
Ice Bucket: chill bottles of gin quickly in an ice bucket or keep by the bar when muddling gin mixers into cool creations.
Ice Crusher: fans of the Mint Julep love an ice crusher.
Ice Cube Kit: we suggest purchasing a selection of ice cube trays. Silicone styles are our favourite as they’re easy to clean and are available in various shapes and sizes.
Jigger: use a jigger to accurately measure spirits, juices, syrups and shrubs.
Juicer: invest in an electronic juicer or buy an affordable hand-held to easily juice fresh citrus like lemons and limes.
Muddler: fans of the Mojito love a sturdy muddler to mix mint and lime. Muddler’s are handy for any cocktail featuring ingredients that need a pounding like fresh herbs or citrus wedges.
Citrus Peeler & Zester: adorn your craft cocktails with a thick citrus peel or finer ribbons of lime or lemon zest.
Rimmer: Bloody Mary and Caesar lovers should outfit their bar with a handy rimmer for salting and sugaring glassware.

We suggest using your favourite premium gin when preparing a Southside Fizz, like Tanqueray.

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How To Make A Southside Fizz Cocktail

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