Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday! (Not that place where you can get huge sugar bombs of alcohol-infused drinks, the actual day.) If you’re looking for an excuse to drink, there are few finer. Now, if you can’t make it to New Orleans to get your Mardi Gras party flowing, you can at least drink to celebrate it. One of my favorite cocktails from the Big Easy? The Ramos Gin Fizz.

Another name for the Ramos Gin Fizz? The New Orleans Fizz, or just the Gin Fizz. That’s right, a fantastic drink to celebrate Mardi Gras is called the New Orleans Fizz. It’s almost too perfect.

Well, yeah, it is too perfect — see, it’s named the New Orleans Fizz because it’s from New Orleans, invented in 1888. There’s that. Oh, the Ramos part? That’s because the inventor was named — you guessed it — Henry C. Ramos. Yet another mystery solved: Ramos Gin Fizz.

When you look at the recipe of the drink, you’ll notice many ingredients. Each one is important. I won’t go so far as to say each one is more important than the last (that’s for Max Power!), but each one is important — don’t skimp.

This is a cooling drink on a warm, muggy day. Light, citrusy, refreshing and just what the bartender ordered. Or grab a Grog and pretend like you’re at Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (oldest bar in America, don’t’cha know?).

There’s one important step to this drink: shake it. When you’re tired, shake some more. When you feel like your arms are about ready to fall off, shake a little more. This has both heavy cream and egg whites in it — meaning there’s a lot in here to froth. You’re going to want to homogenize everything nicely, and that requires some serious work.

It’s worth it. Stay on target! Then enjoy a Ramos Gin Fizz for Mardi Gras or whenever you need something a little extra special!