Earl Grey MarTEAni Recipe

Before you start

The Earl Grey MarTEAni is a gin sour created by Audrey Saunders, who served it at the Pegu Club in New York in the mid-2000s. Gin is infused with loose Earl Grey tea, then shaken with lemon, simple syrup and egg white, and served up with a sugared rim. Bergamot, the citrus that flavors Earl Grey, links neatly to both the lemon and the gin's botanicals.

The infusion is the step to get right. Tea in high-proof spirit extracts flavor very fast, and if it sits too long the tannins turn the gin harsh and drying. Taste it from the one-hour mark and strain as soon as the bergamot is clear and the bitterness is still soft. The egg white is what gives the drink its silky texture; use pasteurized eggs.

Ingredients

• Earl Grey gin (makes about 240 ml)250 ml (8½ oz) London dry gin
• 6 g (about 2 tbsp) loose-leaf Earl Grey tea
• Cocktail45 ml (1½ oz) Earl Grey-infused gin
• 22 ml (¾ oz) fresh lemon juice
• 30 ml (1 oz) simple syrup (1:1)
• 1 pasteurized egg white — about 30 ml (1 oz)
• 1 tbsp superfine sugar — for a half rim
• 1 strip lemon peel — for garnish

Method

1. Make the infused gin: put the tea leaves in a clean jar, add the gin, seal and shake. Leave at room temperature away from sunlight.
2. Taste the gin after 1 hour and then every 20 minutes. Strain it through a fine strainer lined with a coffee filter once the bergamot is distinct, usually within 2 hours. Do not squeeze the leaves, which pushes out bitterness.
3. Moisten half the rim of a coupe with lemon and dip it in superfine sugar. Chill the glass.
4. Add the infused gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white to the shaker without ice. Seal and dry shake hard for 15 seconds to whip the egg white.
5. Open the shaker, fill it two-thirds with ice and shake again for 10 to 12 seconds, until very cold.
6. Double-strain into the prepared coupe. Let the foam settle for a moment, then express the lemon peel over the top and lay it on the foam.

Tips for success

• Choose a quality loose-leaf Earl Grey with natural bergamot. Tea dust from cheap bags over-extracts quickly and turns the gin bitter.
• Room temperature infusion is fine here because the gin is high-proof; keep the jar sealed and out of direct sun.
• Reverse dry shake if you want an even denser foam: shake with ice first, strain out the ice, then shake again without it.

Substitutions

Egg white

Use 22 ml of aquafaba (chickpea liquid). The foam is slightly looser but very close, and it suits vegan guests.

Earl Grey tea

Lady Grey adds orange and lemon peel. A jasmine green tea makes a lighter, floral gin; infuse it for less time.

Simple syrup

Honey syrup (1:1) adds floral depth that suits bergamot; use the same measure.

Troubleshooting

The infused gin is mouth-drying and bitter

It infused too long or the tea was too fine. Start a fresh batch and strain it earlier, or cut the bitter batch 1:1 with plain gin.

The foam is thin

Dry shake longer and harder, and use a fresh egg white. Make sure no yolk got into the white.

The drink smells eggy

Express a lemon peel over the foam, or add a couple of drops of bitters on top to perfume it.

Storage

Shake and serve at once. Strained Earl Grey gin keeps in a sealed bottle in a cool, dark cupboard for several months, though the bergamot slowly fades. Keep pasteurized eggs refrigerated and use them by the date on the carton.

Safety notes

Contains about 45 ml of gin, roughly 1 to 1.2 U.S. standard drinks depending on its proof (one standard drink is about 14 g of pure alcohol). Use pasteurized eggs or pasteurized egg whites, as the FDA advises for recipes served with raw egg. Serve only to adults of legal drinking age, and do not drink and drive.