Some old-school drinks served at Still

So a man walks into a bar. He orders up a drink. The barkeep pours gin into a shaker, cracks an egg, drips in some vanilla extract and adds orange flower water, citruses, cream, sugar and soda.

Shortly thereafter, the first in a long line of barmen shakes the drink vigorously until he can shake no more. Then he passes the gleaming shaker over his shoulder to the next man in line. And on it goes.

That's the way the famous Ramos Gin Fizz was made back in the pre-Prohibition days at the storied New Orleans bar where it originated in 1888. According to "The Gentleman's Companion - An Exotic Drinking Book," the recipe was top secret until the brothers Ramos released it "in a fit of generous aberration during our alleged & ridiculous Drouth of the Prohibition Era."

Way back in 1939, when "The Gentleman's Companion" was published, author Charles H. Baker Jr. proclaimed that "the formula, like any history dealing with the dead arts, should be engraved on the tablets of history."

Today, the Ramos Gin Fizz could top the list of endangered classic cocktails, a list that includes the Side Car, the Tom Collins and the Rob Roy. Thankfully, a few bars are bringing back the classics, but the ability and willingness to offer the complicated Ramos Gin Fizz could indicate how dedicated the bar is to the renaissance.

Recently we ducked into Still, a cozy, brick-walled basement hideaway a block back from High Street and Olde Towne Portsmouth's main restaurant scene. Slipping into the last two seats at the L-shaped bar, we asked for a gin fizz.

"A Ramos Gin Fizz?" asked barkeep Albee Pedone, attired neatly in a white shirt and black vest.

Not only do the Still bartenders know how to make the famed cocktail, it's included on their cocktail menu ($8), along with Gin Rickeys ($7), Old Fashioneds ($7.50) and Stingers ($7). The bartenders also know that - without that line of bar backs to shake the drink - it takes 20 minutes or more to make, and it's not for everyone.

About 25 minutes after we placed the order, Pedone slid across the polished wood bar a tall glass, frothy and snow white with a lemon wedge garnish.

"It's very complex, that drink," Pedone warned. "It definitely doesn't go with anything you are going to eat. It's a cocktail, nothing else."

We tipped the glass, and the taste was like no other cocktail we'd sipped before.

There's tartness from the citrus, balanced with the slightest sweetness. The cream and egg white give the drink body, and the vigorous shaking ensures that it doesn't separate. The gin provides another layer of flavor, but the orange flower water, to our virgin palates, dominated. It delivers a flowery essence, not unlike perfume, and while you don't actually taste perfume, the scent is unmistakable. We took another sip and decided this would take some getting used to.

Two stools down, David and Dora Marquart of Portsmouth were perusing the cocktail list. They were intrigued by our Ramos fizz, so we offered them a taste.

"That drink would make me think too much," David said.

The couple had been stationed in Japan at one time, and after taking a sip, Dora said, "That taste, it just took me right back there!"

Neither Marquart ordered one, opting instead for other drinks on the menu. About halfway through the fizz, we followed suit, ordering a Side Car ($8) and a Rum Crusta ($7.50). No orange flower water in those.

The Side Car, served straight up in a handsome, emerald-stemmed martini glass, combined brandy, orange liqueur and lemon juice with a pulverized sugar rim. The Crusta, another New Orleans native that hails from 1852, is an elixir of blackstrap rum, orange liqueur, maraschino and lemon juice.

We never did finish the fizz, but the bartender said there are a few regular fans of the drink.

Even if you don't crave the complexity of the Ramos Gin Fizz, there might still be a reason to order one. Celebrity bartender Dale DeGroff writes in his book "The Craft of the Cocktail": "Over the years, I've cured thousands of hangovers with this famous eye-opener, one of the greats."

Lorraine Eaton,

lorraine.eaton@pilotonline.com

Check out her blog about all things epicure at www://hamptonroads.com/blogs/lorraine-eaton.