Cocktail Hour | Clover Club

Skyler E.

It’s Spring! Well, almost. Here in Seattle the cherry blossoms are blooming and bulbs are already popping out of the ground so it’s Spring, ok? Even though it’s “Spring” here in the Pacific Northwest it’s still on the chilly side most of the time, but when the sun comes out… it’s so lovely. That’s when I start craving a spring-time cocktail, but something with a little bit of body since we’re still on the edge of winter. How about a Clover Club! It combines the sweet tartness of raspberries with the rich cream of egg white.

Before we make this drink (which is super easy by the way) let’s set the mood. I’m going to pretend I’m not in the middle of moving. That I’m not standing in the middle of a house which is half packed, cardboard boxes are not stacked almost to the ceiling, and that even though I haven’t mopped recently, my floors are spotless. Seriously though, I really need to mop.

My musings of less stressful times may be just fantasy but this drink is not, and you don’t need any good reason to make it. Treat yo’ self!

The Clover Club is a drink that predates Prohibition and is named after a Mens' Club of the same name in Philadelphia. Eventually and sadly, it fell out of fashion, mostly due to the use of egg white. If you can eat raw cookie dough with little worry, then you can handle this drink. It’s actually less scary. Think of it like meringue!

Some Clover Clubs use raspberry syrup but I prefer fresh fruit. It’s so much less sweet and why would you want a drink with artificial flavor? So we need to make a simple raspberry puree.

Start with a handful or so of raspberries and whizz them up in a food processor or blender.

Then pour that mixture through a small sieve, pressing it through, leaving behind all the seeds and such. Then you'll be left with a smooth puree.

When it comes to the egg white, the best method to obtaining a lovely fluff is to use a dry shake. 

A dry shake is where you combine all of your ingredients together + the egg white and shake them without ice. The problem with shaking your drink with ice is that by the time the egg has reached the desired consistency, your poor drink has become majorly diluted. 

With this method, you get perfect fluff and full flavor. 

Dry shake for 1 minute, add a generous handful of ice, then shake again for 15-20 seconds which is just long enough to chill. Pouring it into a pre-chilled glass is great too, if you can remember beforehand!

Once you pour your drink you may think, "Hmm, it's not very foamy :(" Wait a few moments and you'll see the egg white separate from the drink and appear beautifully on top. 

To garnish I like to add a mint leaf. Technically that makes it a Clover Leaf but whatever. Before you place you mint, you want to activate the natural oils. To do so, lay a leaf in the palm of your hand and give it a good slap. You'll instantly smell the mint become 10x more fragrant!

Clover Club

Makes 1 drink

1 fresh egg white
2 oz Gin (I used Beefeater)
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
1/4 oz Raspberry puree
Mint

Combine all ingredients into a shaker and dry shake for 1 minute, until the egg white is fluffy. Then add a handful of ice and shake again until chilled, 20 seconds max. Strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with mint leaf.

Print recipe here.

Do you have any drinks or food you really crave when the weather starts to warm up?

-skyler