Clover Club

The CLOVER CLUB is a classic raspberry-flavored gin cocktail which has been around since the 1880’s. Like many pre-prohibition drinks, it calls for raw egg-white to give it a smooth frothy layer on top. Combining the fresh-tart flavor of raspberry with vermouth and the botanicals of gin make this a stronger and more complex drink than its appearance might suggest.

Requirements: dry gin, lemon juice, raw egg-white, raspberry syrup, 2-3 raspberries for garnish, dry vermouth (optional)

• 2 oz. dry gin
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1 raw egg white (minimum 1 oz.)
• 1/2 oz. raspberry syrup (or 5-7 raspberries)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (optional)
• 2-3 raspberries for garnish

If preparing homemade raspberry syrup, see preparation below.* Add raspberry syrup, gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice and egg white to a shaker. Dry shake (without ice) for about 15 seconds to allow egg-white to foam inside. Add ice and shake 25-30 seconds to chill. Strain the mix into a coup glass to filter out raspberry pulp & seeds. Garnish with 1-3 raspberries on a cocktail pick or with a lemon peel.

*Raspberry syrup preparation: Muddle 1/2 cup raspberries, 1/2 cup water and 1 cup sugar together. Stir thoroughly. Let mixture sit for 30 minutes until it becomes syrupy. Fine-strain it into another container. Unused portion can be refrigerated with a dash of vodka as preservative.

History: The irony of this pinkish frothy cocktail is that it was originally created about 1882 for a gentleman’s club in Philadelphia — the Clover Club at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel — attended mostly by financial, legal and literary men. The drink went out of fashion after prohibition, but has had a resurgence when appearing as recently as 2003 in Gary Regan’s Joy of Mixology book, and with the success of a Brooklyn bar naming itself after the drink in 2008.

Comments: This is a fresh delicious gin cocktail and well worth the extra steps of muddling raspberries and cracking an egg. Regarding the use of raw eggs: they’re safe as long as they are relatively fresh and pasteurized, as most in the U.S. are. A decent vegan alternative to egg-white is the liquid from a can of chickpeas (1 oz.), called aquafaba.

Similar Cocktails:

Pegu Club — https://keetscocktails.com/pegu-club/

Woodstock — https://keetscocktails.com/woodstock/

Martinez — https://keetscocktails.com/martinez/