The Chicago Fizz: A Rum and Port Classic Worth Shaking
The Chicago Fizz is a tall, frothy cocktail built on light rum, ruby port, lemon juice, sugar and egg white, shaken hard with ice, strained into a highball and finished with a splash of carbonated water. It takes about five minutes to make one drink and serves one person.
- Basewhite rum
- Strength18% ABV, approximate
- Methodshake
- Glasshighball
- Icecracked
- Difficultymedium
- Total3 min
- Serves1
- Fruity
- Tart
- Frothy
- Jigger or measuring spoons
- Cocktail shaker
- Strainer
- Bar spoon
- Fine strainer
- Contains eggs (Egg white)
The Chicago Fizz is a drink that people usually order out of curiosity and then find themselves making at home for years. It sits in that odd, wonderful spot between a sour and a fizz: the rum and port give it a fruity richness, the lemon keeps it sharp, and the egg white turns the whole thing into a tall, silky cloud of a cocktail topped with a sparkle of soda water.
This version sticks close to the classic build. You shake the base hard with ice, double-strain into a highball, then top with carbonated water so the head stays stiff and pillow-like. It's a clean, balanced drink in the style of the old American fizzes — the sort of thing a bar would have served when the category was still new and bartenders were showing off what a shaker could do.
You'll need one cocktail shaker, a fine strainer and about five minutes. The technique matters more than the ingredients here. Get the shake right and the drink builds its own texture without you doing anything else.
About the Chicago Fizz
The fizz family emerged in the late 19th century as an American evolution of the sour, with the addition of carbonated water giving the style its tall, effervescent character. The Chicago Fizz specifically pairs light rum with port, an unusual combination that reads like a cross between a daiquiri and a New Orleans Fizz. The drink is named for the city rather than any documented invention story, which is common for cocktails of that era. It belongs to a broader tradition of regionally named fizzes produced in American bars during the pre-Prohibition cocktail boom. The port contributes a fortified-wine depth that most rum drinks lack, which is exactly why the combination still holds attention today.
Why it works
- 1The rum brings clean, lightly sweet body without overpowering the port's fruity notes.
- 2Ruby port adds tannic depth and dark berry character that stands up to the lemon.
- 3A proper hard shake with egg white builds a dense, stable foam that holds the soda water on top.
- 4The lemon juice balances the combined sweetness of the rum, port and sugar into a crisp sour structure.
Ingredients
Serves 1.
1 oz Light rumChoose a clean, lightly aged rum so the port stays the dominant flavour.
- 1 oz Ruby port
Ruby port is the right choice here — tawny is too nutty and dry.
0.5 oz Fresh lemon juice, juice of half a lemon, strainedFresh juice is non-negotiable for the foam to set properly.
1 tsp Powdered sugarDissolves instantly in a cold shake, unlike granulated sugar.
1 Egg white, from a pasteurized eggPasteurized is safer for a raw-egg cocktail.
2 oz Carbonated water, chilledUse plain soda water, not tonic — tonic adds sweetness and quinine.
ingredients
The port is the ingredient that makes or breaks this drink. Ruby port is fruity and youthful, with enough tannin to hold its own against the rum. A tawny port will make the drink taste nutty and flat, and a vintage port is wasted here. For the rum, a lightly aged column-still rum like a Puerto Rican or Cuban style works best. A heavily funky Jamaican rum will steamroll the port. Use fresh lemon juice only — bottled juice lacks the acidity and the proteins that help the foam form. Powdered sugar dissolves instantly in a cold shake, which is why the classic spec calls for it instead of granulated.
You need: jigger or measuring spoons, cocktail shaker, strainer, bar spoon, fine strainer.
Method
Dry shake the base
Add the rum, port, lemon juice, powdered sugar and egg white to a cocktail shaker with no ice. Close it tightly and shake hard for 15 seconds. This first shake is what builds the foam — the egg white needs to whip into a froth before the cold ice hits it, or the alcohol will kill the foam before it forms.
Look for: The liquid turns pale and frothy, and you can hear the shake get heavier as air gets folded in.
Common mistake: Skipping the dry shake. Adding ice first means the foam never properly forms and the drink comes out flat and watery.
Open the shaker, add a generous scoop of cracked ice, close it and shake hard for another 12 to 15 seconds. The ice chills the drink and dilutes it to the right strength while the foam from the dry shake gets stabilized by the cold. You're looking for the shaker to feel painfully cold in your hands.
Look for: The outside of the shaker frosts over completely and the contents feel heavier when you stop.
Common mistake: Shaking too long. Over-shaking over-dilutes the drink and thins the foam until it collapses in the glass.
Hold a fine strainer over a cocktail strainer and pour the whole contents into a chilled highball glass. The double strain catches any ice shards and any un-emulsified bits of egg white, leaving you with a silky, uniform liquid. Do not add ice to the glass yet — the fizz gets its chill from the soda water.
Look for: The liquid pours out pale, slightly creamy and completely free of ice chips, with a thin layer of foam starting to form on top.
Common mistake: Straining through a coarse strainer only. Ice shards and egg white lumps end up in the glass and ruin the texture.
Pour the chilled carbonated water down the side of the glass, slowly, so it doesn't disturb the foam. You want the soda to sit on top of the drink, not mix violently into it. Stop when the glass is full and the foam has risen just above the rim.
Look for: The drink turns a pale apricot colour and a thick, white foam head sits proudly above the rim of the glass.
Common mistake: Pouring the soda directly into the center. This collapses the foam and mixes the carbonation out of the drink instantly.
Set the drink on the bar with a short straw if you like, but do not stir it. The layers are part of the experience: the fizzy, dry top gives way to the creamy, fruity body underneath. The drink is meant to be sipped through the foam.
Look for: A bright white foam cap, a slightly gradient liquid below it, and no ice visible in the glass.
Common mistake: Stirring the drink before serving. This collapses the foam and homogenizes the texture into a flat, watery mess.
Tips from the bar
- 1Use a pasteurized egg white if you're at all worried about raw egg — the texture is identical and the safety is better.
- 2Chill the highball glass in the freezer for 10 minutes before you start. A warm glass will melt the foam as soon as the soda hits it.
- 3Shake the dry shake for a full 15 seconds, not until you get bored. The foam needs that time to build proper structure.
- 4If your egg white won't foam, it's probably because the shaker has a trace of oil or detergent. Rinse it with hot water and dry it completely before starting.
- 5A bar spoon is handy for the soda pour — let it run down the spoon into the glass to control the flow.
Variations
- New Orleans Fizz: swap the port for a teaspoon of orange flower water and use gin instead of rum for a floral, aromatic version.
- Berry Chicago Fizz: muddle three fresh raspberries in the shaker before adding the liquid ingredients for a fruitier, deeper colour.
- Smoked Chicago Fizz: use a mezcal instead of light rum for a smoky, savoury undertone that plays against the port's sweetness.
- Non-alcoholic Chicago Fizz: replace the rum and port with a seedless red grape juice and a splash of apple cider vinegar, and shake with the egg white for the same foamy texture.
Substitutions
- Light rum → gold rum. Sweeter and heavier, so reduce the powdered sugar to 0.5 tsp to keep the balance.
- Ruby port → any fruity fortified wine like a young Madeira or a Banyuls. The tannin and fruit intensity will differ slightly.
- Egg white → aquafaba (chickpea brine). Use 1 tbsp and shake it the same way; it foams just as well and is fully vegan.
- Powdered sugar → 0.5 oz simple syrup. It's the same sweetness, just already dissolved.
Serving, storing, batching
The Chicago Fizz works best as a pre-dinner drink or a brunch cocktail. Serve it with something salty and crisp — oysters, salted almonds, or a plate of fried chicken. The tart, foamy body cuts through rich food, and the port's fruitiness pairs well with savoury, umami-heavy dishes.
This drink does not store. The foam collapses and the carbonation goes flat within minutes. Make it fresh and drink it immediately. If you're prepping for a party, you can pre-mix the rum, port, lemon and sugar in a bottle and keep it refrigerated for up to a week, then shake with egg white and soda when you're ready to serve.
To scale for a party, multiply the rum, port, lemon and sugar by the number of guests and keep the mix refrigerated. For each drink, shake 3 oz of the mix with one egg white as described, strain, and top with soda. Do not batch the egg white or the soda — both must be added fresh per glass or the texture collapses.
Questions people ask
The Chicago Fizz is a classic cocktail named after the city, made with light rum, port, lemon juice, sugar and egg white, topped with carbonated water. It's not as widely known as the Chicago-style hot dog or deep dish pizza, but it's a staple of the classic cocktail canon.
Yes, most fizz cocktails contain alcohol. The category is defined by the addition of carbonated water to a base spirit, which is usually gin, rum, or whiskey. Fizzes traditionally also include citrus juice and sugar, making them a sparkling, balanced sour.
The Chicago Fizz is the most classic cocktail named after the city. It combines light rum, ruby port, lemon juice, powdered sugar and egg white, shaken and topped with soda water. Other Chicago-named drinks exist, but this is the one that appears in historical cocktail books.
A classic fizz has four core components: a base spirit (like gin or rum), citrus juice (usually lemon or lime), a sweetener (sugar or syrup), and carbonated water. Many fizzes also include egg white for a frothy texture, and some add other modifiers like cream or liqueurs.
The Gin and Tonic needs just gin, tonic water and lime. The Gin Gimlet takes gin, lime juice and simple syrup. And a classic Martini is gin, dry vermouth and a lemon twist or olive. All three take under two minutes to build.
The easiest fizz is a Gin Fizz — just gin, lemon, sugar, soda and an optional egg white. A Ramos Gin Fizz is the same but with cream and orange flower water, and takes more shaking. The Chicago Fizz is a rum-based version that's equally simple once you have the ingredients.
The Chicago Fizz is the most well-known cocktail to come out of the city's name. It's a pre-Prohibition era drink that pairs light rum with ruby port, lemon, sugar and egg white, finished with soda water. It's a tall, frothy, fruity drink that holds up well today.
Yes. The drink will be thinner and less creamy, but still balanced. Use 1 tbsp of aquafaba (chickpea brine) instead of the egg white, or simply omit it and shake the liquid ingredients with ice only. Without the egg white, the texture is closer to a classic sour.
It's fruity and tart with a rich, creamy texture. The port gives dark berry and raisin notes, the rum adds a light sweetness, and the lemon keeps everything sharp. The egg white makes the mouthfeel silky and the soda adds a dry, bubbly finish.
A sour is a short drink made with a spirit, citrus and sweetener, served over ice or up. A fizz is a sour that gets topped with carbonated water and is served tall, often with egg white for a foam head. The soda is the defining difference.
Use a ruby port. It's fruity, youthful and has enough tannin to hold up against the rum and lemon. Tawny port is too nutty and dry, and white port won't give you the colour or depth you want.
Shaken. The drink contains lemon juice and egg white, both of which need the agitation of a hard shake to combine properly and build the foam. Stirring would leave the egg white un-emulsified and the drink flat and stringy.
Last word
The Chicago Fizz is a forgotten classic that deserves a comeback. It's a tall, frothy, fruity drink that's easy to make once you know the two-stage shake. If you've got rum, port and an egg white, you're already most of the way there. Shake one up tonight.
