The Clover Club cocktail is a classic and elegant drink from the late 1800s, and a recipe every good bartender should know. The invention of the cocktail happened at the bar of the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, which was a popular hangout for intelligent and accomplished folk. The group of people was named “Clover Club”. People gathered to eat, talk, and enjoy a cocktail made of gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, and egg white, also named “Clover Club”.

The 1917 book “The Ideal Bartender” by Thomas Bullock is the first one to have Philadelphia’s signature cocktail, and the recipe goes like this – “Fill large Bar glass full Fine Ice. 2 pony Raspberry Syrup. 2 jigger Dry Gin. 1 jigger French Vermouth. White of 1 Egg. Shake well; strain into Cocktail glass and serve.”

For the bigger part of the 20th century, the famous Philly cocktail almost disappeared, but fortunately was rediscovered, and found its way back to the bar when it appeared in some modern cocktail books and guides. In 2008, Julie Reiner opened a cocktail bar in Brooklyn and named it “Clover Club” after the cocktail. They put the drink on the menu and it has remained there since.

On the list of IBA Official Cocktails.

Tips:

The perfect gin for your Clover Club would be a good London Dry Gin.

Get some fresh raspberries and muddle a few in a shaker with some simple syrup to create your raspberry syrup.

Egg white is optional in this drink as it is in most, but it’s also recommended. It will give your drink a nice silky texture and a foamy top.

Ingredients:

  1. 2 Ounces (60 ml) of London Dry gin.
  2. ¾ on an ounce (22.5 ml) of fresh lemon juice.
  3. 1 egg white.
  4. 1 Ounce (30 ml) of raspberry syrup. (fresh raspberries muddled with sugar syrup).
  5. 3-4 fresh raspberries on a skewer as garnish.

Warning: Consuming raw eggs possesses a minor risk of food poisoning.

Preparation:

  1. In a cocktail shaker muddle a few raspberries with 1 ounce (30 ml) of simple syrup.
  2. Add gin, lemon juice, and egg white and perform a Dry Shake – Shake without ice for about 15-20 seconds.
  3. Add ice and shake again.
  4. Strain the cocktail into a chilled cocktail glass using a fine strainer.
  5. Garnish and enjoy.

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