Classic Cocktails: Clover Club
February 14th is right around the corner and that means Valentines Day. Where date nights or special occasions typically lean to a glass of good wine paired with an excellent meal, this week lets go beyond the wine list. Once you start to look into them there is a cocktail suitable for nearly any occasion, and Valentines Day is perfect for the Clover Club Cocktail.
The Clover Club is a pre-prohibition cocktail with several variations and one ingredient that you will either love or hate. Popularized and named for the Clover Club in Philadelphia this cocktail was popular from the 1880’s through the 1920’s. It was a shame that this fruity, frothy cocktail fell out of fashion due to its association with “pansies” as one writer put it, along with the use of one ingredient that fell out of favour, egg whites.
From the appearance to the flavour, this cocktail has many offerings for the middle of February. How would you like to start your Valentines festivities with a cocktail that sets the mood right from the beginning? A cocktail that has a hint of red in the glass covered by a healthy topping of white snow all topped with a garnish of fresh fruit. This drink offers a backdrop of gin, a frontal sweetness brought to you by raspberries and the mouth-feel fantasy brought to you by egg whites. While not an overly complex drink all ingredients come together to make one memorable cocktail.
Recipe
Ingredients:
2 oz. gin
.75 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. raspberry syrup
1 egg white.
Fresh raspberries for garnish
Ice Cubes
Directions:
- Dry shake the egg white in a shaker tin for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and ice to the tin and shake for an additional 15 seconds, or until adequately cooled.
- Strain and serve in a martini or coupe glass.
- Garnish with a spear of 3-5 raspberries.
This Wednesday, if you’re feeling like a night in, or have a bar nearby that is not afraid to serve egg whites (which is rare) think about getting this drink mixed up for you. The gin is well masked behind the curtain of egg whites and to me an egg white cocktail is a winter cocktail. Some may say for the better, some may say for the worse however any cocktail is completely transformed the second egg whites enter the picture. It cannot be understated that fresh egg whites are important. If you have had a carton of eggs in your fridge for a month, get new ones for this drink. As always, if you’re going out for drinks make sure you have arrangements planned in advance to get home safely. Happy Valentines Day!