Clover Club Cocktail

With over 105 episodes of Virtual Happy Hour under my belt, one thing I’ve learned is that people love a gin-based cocktail with egg white. Aside from the fan favourite Earl Grey Sour, the Clover Club has risen up the ranks to be a podium finisher.

This pre-Prohibition era cocktail comes to us from the City of Brotherly Love. This classic was created at a gentlemen’s club of the same name in 1896.

The Clover Club was enjoyed by captains of industry luxuriating in the oak-panelled lounge of the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia until the club closed in the 1920s. The cocktail first appears in print in 1917 and, like many older cocktails, has appeared in a number of different forms.

Some recipes call for the use of French vermouth, others employ grenadine in place of raspberry syrup. On the whole, this drink is consistently tart, subtly sweet, and has a delicious foamy head from the egg white.

The Clover Club fell from grace after Prohibition on account of the occasionally arduous task of frothing the egg white. If you have the time, dry shaking the ingredients before adding ice and shaking again is going to ensure the best result in terms of a light and airy foam.

I’m sharing this version of the recipe that employs a cheater method for the raspberry syrup. Instead of taking the time to create raspberry syrup from scratch, I save time by simply muddling 3-4 raspberries with 1/2 ounce of simple syrup in the shaker tin before adding the remaining ingredients.

The only caveat with this cheater method is that you should probably double-strain the contents of the shaker into your chilled coupe glass to prevent any raspberry bits from getting into the glass and compromising that incredible velvety texture that you just shook so hard for.

If you don’t have a cocktail-sized fine-mesh strainer, just use a fine sieve. Mouthfeel is a big component in a well-crafted cocktail so, if you can spare the extra 30 seconds, do the double shake AND the double strain.

Clover Club Cocktail

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Clover Club Cocktail

Prep Time

3 mins

Total Time

3 mins

 

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Clover Club, Gin, Lemon, Raspberries, Sour

Servings: 1 drink

Ingredients

• 4 raspberries
• ½ oz simple syrup
• 2 oz gin
• ½ oz lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• 3 raspberries, for garnish

Instructions

1. Muddle 4 raspberries with simple syrup in a shaker tin.

2. Add remaining ingredients and dry shake for at least 20 seconds.

3. Add ice and shake again for 30 seconds.

4. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with 3 raspberries speared on a cocktail pick.