Clover Club Cocktail Recipe

Before you start

The Clover Club is a pre-Prohibition gin sour with raspberry and egg white. It is pink and pretty, but a well-made one is tart and dry rather than sweet. Some recipes include a splash of dry vermouth, which adds a winey, herbal depth and keeps the raspberry from tasting like candy; this version uses it.

The key ingredient is the raspberry syrup. Commercial raspberry syrups and grenadine are often too sweet or artificial, while a quick homemade syrup from fresh or frozen berries tastes vivid and fruity. Make it ahead so it can cool, then dry shake the drink to build a smooth, dense foam. Use a pasteurized egg white. Fine-strain twice, once to make the syrup and once when pouring the drink, so no seeds end up in the glass.

Ingredients

• Raspberry syrup (makes about 180 ml)125 g (1 cup) raspberries — fresh or frozen
• 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 100 ml (scant ½ cup) water
• Cocktail45 ml (1½ oz) London dry gin
• 15 ml (½ oz) dry vermouth — refrigerated once opened
• 15 ml (½ oz) fresh lemon juice
• 15 ml (½ oz) raspberry syrup
• 22 ml (¾ oz) pasteurized egg white — about two-thirds of a large egg white
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking
• 2 or 3 fresh raspberries — on a pick, for garnish

Method

1. Make the syrup: combine raspberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes, pressing the berries with a spoon until they collapse.
2. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the pulp lightly. Discard the seeds and let the syrup cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, then refrigerate.
3. Chill a coupe glass in the freezer for about 10 minutes, or fill it with ice water.
4. Add gin, dry vermouth, lemon, raspberry syrup and egg white to the shaker. Seal it and dry shake without ice for 15 seconds to whip the egg white.
5. Open the shaker carefully, fill it two-thirds with ice, and shake hard for another 10 to 12 seconds.
6. Double-strain into the chilled coupe. Let the foam settle for a few seconds, then garnish with raspberries on a pick laid across the rim.

Tips for success

• Frozen raspberries make syrup just as well as fresh and are often riper and cheaper.
• Do not press the pulp hard through the sieve; it pushes through cloudy solids that make the foam grainy.
• If you skip the vermouth, cut the syrup slightly; the vermouth adds dryness that balances the fruit.

Substitutions

Raspberry syrup

Grenadine is a common shortcut, but it makes a sweeter drink with pomegranate rather than raspberry flavor. Raspberry jam stirred with an equal weight of hot water and strained also works in a pinch.

Dry vermouth

Leave it out and add 15 ml more gin for a sharper, simpler sour. Blanc vermouth adds more sweetness and floral notes.

Egg white

Aquafaba (22 ml) makes a vegan foam with a slightly looser texture.

Variations

Fresh-berry Clover Club

Skip the syrup; muddle 5 raspberries in the shaker with 15 ml simple syrup, then continue as written and double-strain.

Troubleshooting

It tastes like raspberry candy

Too much syrup or a commercial syrup with added flavoring. Use homemade syrup at 15 ml and keep the vermouth in.

The foam is thin

Lengthen the dry shake, make sure the shaker is free of oil, and use a full measure of egg white.

Seeds or pulp in the drink

Strain the syrup through a fine sieve and double-strain the finished drink.

Storage

Serve the cocktail immediately. Refrigerate raspberry syrup in a sealed jar and use within about 2 weeks; discard if it turns cloudy, fizzy or moldy. Store opened dry vermouth in the fridge for up to a month.

Safety notes

Contains raw egg white: use pasteurized eggs or carton whites as the FDA recommends for uncooked egg. About 1.2 U.S. standard drinks per cocktail (one standard drink is about 14 g of alcohol). Adults of legal drinking age only, and do not drink and drive.