Clover Club
Gin, lemon, raspberry and egg white, shaken to a pink foam. A Philadelphia gentlemen's-club drink from the 1890s, and the proof that pink is not the same as sweet.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the gin, vermouth if using, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white to a shaker and dry shake without ice for 10 seconds.
Add ice and shake hard for another 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe, let the foam settle, and garnish with raspberries on a pick.
A thoughtful finish
- Real raspberries make a better drink than syrup from a bottle. Muddle three or four with simple syrup and double strain; the colour and the sharpness are both better.
- The dry shake first is what builds the foam. Shake without ice, then with it.
- The Savoy adds dry vermouth, which makes it drier and more complex; the older Philadelphia version leaves it out. Try both.
Common mistakes
- Grenadine in place of raspberry. It is a different drink — a Clover Leaf with grenadine is a Pink Lady — and a worse one.
- Skipping the egg white. The texture is the point.
- Serving it before the foam has settled. Give it a few seconds.
A few good questions.
What is the difference between a Clover Club and a Clover Leaf?
A mint sprig. The Clover Leaf is a Clover Club garnished with mint, and some versions add a little mint to the shake.
Can I make it without egg white?
Yes — it becomes a gin, lemon and raspberry sour, thinner but good. Aquafaba gives a similar foam if you avoid eggs.
Raspberry syrup or fresh raspberries?
Fresh, muddled with syrup, if you have them. Bottled syrup is fine; the drink needs the raspberry flavour either way.
Why was it unfashionable?
Because it is pink and frothy, which from the 1950s onward meant 'not a serious drink'. It is now understood to be one.
Variations
- Clover Leaf — The same drink with a mint garnish.
- Pink Lady — Gin, applejack, grenadine and egg white.
- Gin Sour — Gin, lemon and sugar.
- Bramble — Gin, lemon and blackberry liqueur over crushed ice.
Where it comes from
c. 1890s · Philadelphia · Clover Club, Bellevue-Stratford Hotel
The Clover Club was a Philadelphia club of lawyers, journalists and businessmen who met at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel from the 1880s, and the drink that bears its name was the house cocktail by the 1890s, printed in bar books by the 1910s. It was a serious drink — gin, lemon, raspberry syrup and egg white, sometimes with dry vermouth — that fell into disrepute in the mid-twentieth century as pink drinks became a joke, and was revived in the 2000s. Julie Reiner named her Brooklyn bar after it in 2008, which did a great deal for its reputation.
Sources
- Paul E. Lowe, Drinks As They Are Mixed, 1904 (book)
- Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930 (book)
- Robert Simonson, A Proper Drink, 2016 (book)
Strength. About 1.24 US standard drinks at an estimated 14% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
A keeper?
Save this drink for your next cocktail hour.
Saved in this browser.The next great drink
might already be on your shelf.
Choose your bottles and mixers. Discover what you can make.