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.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 drink
Ingredients
Preparation
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
