Morning Glory Fizz Recipe
A Scotch fizz with lemon, lime, egg white and a spoonful of absinthe — smoky-malty, tart and crowned with a tall silky foam.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 12%
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- Scotch whisky60 ml (2 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice22 ml (0.7 oz)
- Fresh lime juice7.5 ml (0.3 oz)
- Simple syrup22 ml (0.7 oz)
- Absinthe1 tsp
- Egg white1 piece
- Soda water60 ml (2 oz)
How to Make It
- Add everything except the soda water to a shaker and shake hard without ice.
- Add ice and shake again until very cold.
- Strain into a chilled highball glass without ice.
- Top slowly with the soda water so the foam rises above the rim.
Garnish
None
What it tastes like
The citrus acidity leads and it wears a foam cap.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Scotch whisky
- Scotch. Blends are soft and grainy, single malts have more character. Unless the recipe says Islay, picking a smoky bottle will throw the drink out of balance.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Freshly squeezed lemon; one lemon gives 30-40 ml. It can swap with lime, but lemon is softer and less aromatic, so use a touch more.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
- Absinthe
- The anise spirit, 55-70% alcohol. In cocktails it is used as a rinse rather than a measure: most recipes have you coat the glass and pour the rest away, leaving only the aroma.
- Egg white
- Egg white adds texture, not flavour. Shake it first without ice (a dry shake), then again with ice. The vegan swap is chickpea water, in the same quantity.
- Soda water
- Plain carbonated water. It goes in LAST and nothing is stirred after it. An open bottle goes flat fast, so small bottles make more sense than big ones.
The Story
It appears in American bartending manuals of the 1880s, where it was recommended as a morning pick-me-up after a long night.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Morning Glory Fizz mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Morning Glory Fizz?
- Roughly 12% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Morning Glory Fizz be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Morning Glory Fizz hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
759 recipes in your pocket
Cocktails and mocktails from 55 countries — ingredients, steps and the story behind each drink. Works offline too.
Similar recipes
Collections
Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.