Tag: lemon juice

whiskey

Morgan Mends the Line | A Custom Cocktail with Orange Spice Tea-Infused Whiskey

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Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail

Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It’s a custom cocktail created especially for my Instagram friend Morgan.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

A few weeks back, Girl & Tonic hit a milestone– I got 1,000 followers on Instagram. 🎉 As a mom, I’m a pro at celebrating evverrryy milestone. As my follower count inched towards 1K, I was already brainstorming ways to commerorate this occassion. A giveaway was my first thought– that’s kinda the norm on Instagram. Reach X amount of followers, run a giveaway. I wasn’t feeling the traditional route though.

After a lot of different ideas, I did end up settling on a giveaway– a custom cocktail giveaway. To be entered, all someone had to do was comment on the post as many times as you wanted. The winner would receive a custom cocktail named after them and also a printed recipe card. I was shocked by how well-received it was.

I used a random comment picker and an awesome gal named Morgan (@morganreidmiller) won! I was honestly surprised because one of my Instagram friend’s comments equated for 1/5 of all the entries. Probability and statistics, eh? 🤔

Morgan, the inspiration behind the custom cocktail Morgan Mends the Line
Morgan, the inspiration behind Morgan Mends the Line

The idea behind a customized cocktail is to create a recipe that personifies that individual. I’ve been IG friends with Morgan for several months now so I knew some about her already. To get to know her more, I sent her a questionnaire and my Custom Cocktail Word Board. I had SO much fun thinking up a custom cocktail recipe that reflected her. Here are the reasons behind the name and ingredient choices.

Morgan has a few interests that would be so fun to explore through a cocktail, but I decided to focus on her love for fly fishing. The name Morgan Mends the Line is not only a nod to the fly fishing term, but also to Morgan’s personality.

Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail created for the winner of my 1K followers giveaway.

To “mend the line” in fly fishing means to handle your fishing line and rod in a particular way to combat the currents of the water. This is done to keep the lure, or the “fly”, from drifting too far downstream. If a line is mended poorly, the lure will either move too slowly or too quickly to be perceived as a real fly. No fish will fall for it. Mending the line requires a steady hand and a perceptive eye that knows when to build up the slack and when to adjust.

You see, when I asked Morgan what she was most proud of, she said “my ability to work through tough situations with a level head and objectively”. Ahh. Now I can see why she’s both drawn to fly fishing and why she’s good at it. Fly fishing, and this cocktail, externalize Morgan’s inner strength–remaining at ease under tense situations.

Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail created for the winner of my 1K followers giveaway.

“Bold” is one of the adjectives that Morgan selected from the Custom Cocktail Word Board. I wanted to add some kind of spicy kick but also needed to keep it in check because “sweet” was a selected adjective as well. Ginger simple syrup is the perfect solution.

Morgan is also a very talented barista. The obvious choice would’ve been to use coffee liqueur in the drink. But two of the words she selected from the word board were “adventurous” and “creative”, so I knew I had to push the envelope a bit. I decided to infuse whiskey (one of her fav liquors) with orange spice tea. It’s got the boldness and the caffeine of coffee but a sweet flavor and aroma that really complements the whiskey. I also tried making it with vodka and it was good, too.

I served it up in a coupe glass because Morgan selected the word “intricate”. Many whiskey drinks are typically served in a lowball or Old Fashioned glass. By serving this one in a coupe glass, it gives the drink a more delicate, gentle persona. Like Morgan.

Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail created for the winner of my 1K followers giveaway.

There’s the story behind Morgan Mends the Line. Thank you to all of you who entered the giveaway! This definitely won’t be the last custom cocktail giveaway I do.

(Before any of you fly fishermen and fisherwomen out there come for me, I *know* the lure used as a garnish isn’t one used for fly-fishing. I used what I had on hand, okay? 😅 I’ve never fly-fished before but I would really love to. The only reason I was able to write this post is because of what I learned from Matthew Bernhardt’s article on Drift Hook.)

Ingredients for Morgan Mends the Line

How to Make a Morgan Mends the Line

To make the orange spice tea-infused whiskey, pour 5 oz of whiskey into a small jar and add one bag of orange spice tea. Let the whiskey and the tea infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove the teabag. Store the extra whiskey in an airtight container. It’ll keep for a long time.

Add ice, the orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Shake well. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a slice of lemon (or a fishing lure but not really bc that’s dangerous, y’all).

Morgan Mends the Line

A bold and sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, citrus, and ginger simple syrup.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz orange spice tea-infused whiskey*
  • ½ oz tangelo juice (can sub clementine, orange, or cara cara juice)
  • ¼ oz lemon juice
  • ½ oz ginger simple syrup**

Instructions
 

  • Add ice, the orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup to a cocktail shaker.
     
  • Shake well.
  • Strain into a coupe glass.
  • Garnish with a slice of lemon (or a fishing lure but not really bc that's dangerous).

Notes

*To make the orange spice tea-infused whiskey, pour 5 oz of whiskey into a small jar and add one bag of orange spice tea. Let the whiskey and the tea infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove the teabag. Store the extra whiskey in an airtight container. It’ll keep for a long time. (You can also use vodka if you prefer. It will have a more mild flavor, which some may prefer.)
**Click here for an easy ginger simple syrup recipe.
Keyword ginger, ginger simple syrup, lemon, lemon juice, orange spice tea, simple syrup, tangelo, whiskey
Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail created for the winner of my 1K followers giveaway.
vodka

Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail| A Sublime Cocktail with Lemon Basil & Black Lemon

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This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it's made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.
This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it’s made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.

I never win anything. Giveaways, cherry pies in cakewalks, knock-off plushies in claw machines, money from lottery tickets, free sandwiches. Nada. Statistically speaking, I’m sure most people in the world would say “me either.”

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

I don’t feel like a “lucky” person. I guess I don’t fully *believe* in Luck (maybe It knows). But when I think about my old coworker who’s won TWO cars and tens of thousands of dollars from gambling, I’ve gotta chalk it up to something. I guess it is luck and I just don’t have much of it.

But that changed a few weeks ago. I WON A GIVEAWAY. An Instagram giveaway, at that. I must’ve quadruple-checked the message when I saw it. And before you get all excited and start trying to figure out where I live, I didn’t win anything crazy.

I won a sampler of Sparkling Botanicals sparkling teas. A 12-pack y’all 🙌 I had seen these gorgeous cans sporadically in my Instagram feed and oohed and ahhed at all the flavors. Ooh and ahh is all I did though because these babies are pri-cey. I hopelessly entered the giveaway, as I often do, and went about my life until the fateful DM that ushered in my stroke of luck.

This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it's made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.

A couple days later a friend texted me. “I went to the farmers’ market today and got some lemon basil. The guy gave me a one-pound bag– I’ll never be able to eat it by myself. Can I bring you some tomorrow?” Seriously. Get you some friends that support your cocktail creating habits. As soon as I saw the words “lemon basil”, I knew I wanted to use it in combination with the black lemon flavor of Sparkling Botanicals.

Just in case you’re wondering if you read that right, yes- it does say black lemon. I’d never heard of it before but I was intrigued. Turns out, black lemons are actually limes (usually) that have been dried. They’re soaked in a brine solution before being left to dry out in the sun. Black lemon is a common ingredient in Iranian cooking and has a distinguishable taste. If you’re intrigued, too, you can buy a bag of them on Amazon. Supposedly they’re a sublime addition to stews and soups.

This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it's made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.

If you can’t purchase Sparkling Botanicals’ black lemon flavor, you can use lemon sparkling water instead. Instead of calling it a Black Lemon and Basil, you can just dub it a Lemon and Basil. It won’t taste the same but it’ll still be good, especially if you’re able to get your hands on some lemon basil.

Lemon basil tastes exactly what it sounds like and it smells straight-up divine. This was my first time ever having it & that’s a crying shame. I put some of these cuttings in a bottle of water to propagate and they’re just about ready to transplant into a pot. Then I can have an endless supply of lemon basil at home. Well, if I keep it alive. If you need some tips on how to grow your own basil at home, check out this great article written by Okra In My Garden.

This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it's made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.

If you’re looking for other exotic drinks, check out my Golden Pothos cocktail that also calls for cardamom simple syrup and turmeric, and my Rub of the Green that utilizes matcha simple syrup and cardamom bitters.

Have you ever had a black lemon cocktail or used lemon basil in a cocktail? Let me know in a comment below!

Ingredients for a Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 oz vodka, or gin
  • 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 4-6 lemon basil leaves
  • 1/2 oz cardamom simple syrup
  • 3+ oz black lemon sparkling water

How to Make a Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail

Add the liquor, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, cardamom simple syrup, and lemon basil leaves to a cocktail shaker. Gently muddle the basil, making sure to only bruise the leaves and not obliterate them. Add ice and shake well for about 20 seconds. Strain into a highball or Collins glass that’s been filled with ice. Top off the rest of the glass with the black lemon sparkling water. Garnish with additional lemon basil leaves.

Black Lemon & Basil Cocktail

This cocktail has bright notes of lemon warmed up by black lemon sparkling water and cardamom syrup. It's refreshing with a subtle complexity that'll make you want to take sip after sip.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½-2 oz vodka, or gin
  • ½ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 4-6 leaves lemon basil
  • ½ oz cardamom simple syrup*
  • 3+ oz black lemon sparkling water

Instructions
 

  • Add the liquor, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, and lemon basil leaves to a cocktail shaker.
  • Gently muddle the basil, making sure to only bruise, not obliterate them.
  • Add ice and shake well for about 20 seconds.
  • Strain into a highball or Collins glass that's been filled with ice.
  • Top off the rest of the glass with the black lemon sparkling water.
  • Garnish with additional lemon basil leaves and a lemon wheel.

Notes

*You can find the easy recipe for cardamom simple syrup here.
Keyword beet simple syrup, black lemon, gin, lemon basil, sparkling water, vodka
This cocktail has bright notes of lemon warmed up by black lemon sparkling water and cardamom syrup. It's refreshing with a subtle complexity that'll make you want to take sip after sip.
gin

Bee’s Knees | An Easy 3-Ingredient Classic Cocktail with Honey and Gin

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The Bee's Knees cocktail recipe has been around since the Prohibition. This classic cocktail has only three simple ingredients, making it the perfect cocktail for anyone looking to get into mixing drinks at home.

The Bee’s Knees cocktail is a classic drink that’s been around since the early 1900s. In recent years, with the rise of craft cocktails and home bartending, it’s regaining popularity. I’m glad it’s getting a lot of recognition these days.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

There are a lot of classic cocktails out there that I’d never heard of prior to making my own drinks at home. I’d heard of a Daiquiri, an Old Fashioned, a French 75, and a Whiskey Sour. But now that I’m taking this mixology hobby more seriously, I’ve discovered other classics like the South Side and the New York Sour, and now the Bee’s Knees.

I looked up the history of the Bee’s Knees cocktail and, like so many other classic drinks, it’s got a great story. And again, like so many others, its origins date back to the Prohibition.

The Bee's Knees cocktail recipe has been around since the Prohibition. This classic cocktail has only three simple ingredients, making it the perfect cocktail for anyone looking to get into mixing drinks at home. You'll need gin, honey simple syrup, and fresh lemon juice.

During the Prohibition-era, referring to something as “the bee’s knees” was a common way to say something was the best. And you could say that this cocktail recipe was the bee’s knees at covering up the smell and taste of bathtub gin.

Wait- what? Bathtub gin? Remember that this recipe dates back to the Prohibition… which means that alcohol was outlawed. With no legal way to mass-produce liquor, innovative Americans came up with alternatives. Some was made in bathtubs, yes, but that’s really just a term to refer to illicit, homemade alcohol.

Gin was the easiest of the liquors to make, which is why there are so many Prohibition-era cocktails that use gin. It was really hard to mimic the flavors of bourbon and scotch since they couldn’t risk aging anything for fear of authorities discovering their stores. (Some people actually used dead rats, rotten meat, and wood tar in attempts to emulate these distinct flavors… yeah…) If you’re interested in reading more about bathtub liquor, check out this article by the Smithsonian and this one by Prohibition: An Interactive History (super cool site, btw).

The Bee's Knees cocktail recipe has been around since the Prohibition. This classic cocktail has only three simple ingredients, making it the perfect cocktail for anyone looking to get into mixing drinks at home. You'll need gin, honey simple syrup, and fresh lemon juice.

There are several different recipes out there for a Bee’s Knees cocktail. While all recipes utilize the same 3 ingredients, there are a lot of different ratios. I tried a few and found I like this one the most. I found that using equal parts lemon juice to honey syrup allowed the honey flavor to come through. Feel free to play around with the ratios a bit to see what you like.

I saw the name of this cocktail pop up somewhere in my Instagram feed a while back and it instantly caught my attention. I love bees (all insects, really).

The Bee's Knees cocktail recipe has been around since the Prohibition. This classic cocktail has only three simple ingredients, making it the perfect cocktail for anyone looking to get into mixing drinks at home. You'll need gin, honey simple syrup, and fresh lemon juice.

I really do love bugs and creepy crawlies. When I was little, my favorite past time was looking for (and collecting…) rollie pollies, worms, and beetles outside with the neighborhood kids. And when the weather didn’t allow for that, I’d get out my giant Sterlite bin filled with plastic bugs and set them up all over my room and play “insect explorer”.

One day, I’d love to add some bees to our little homestead out here in the country. How cool would it be to make a Bee’s Knees using honey my own bees made? But don’t worry, I don’t plan on adding bathtub gin to my liquor collection anytime soon.

Ingredients for a Bee’s Knees Cocktail

How to Make a Bee’s Knees Cocktail

Add all three ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

See? Easy.

Bee’s Knees

The Bee's Knees is a classic gin cocktail with honey and lemon juice.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz gin
  • ¾ oz honey simple syrup (see note for recipe)
  • ¾ oz freshly-squeezed lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.
  • Shake well, about 20 seconds.
  • Strain into a coupe glass.
  • Garnish with a lemon twist.

Notes

To make the honey simple syrup, heat 1 part water to 1 part honey until the honey dissolves into the water. This makes it much easier to incorporate honey into an ice-cold drink. For more information about honey simple syrup, you can read my post about it.
Keyword gin, honey, honey simple syrup, lemon, lemon juice

If you enjoyed this drink, you’re sure to like my spiced honey French 75. \\

gin

Cucumber Basil Refresher | A Magical Gin Cocktail with Fresh Cucumber Juice

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This Cucumber Basil Refresher combines fresh cucumber juice, basil, & club soda for a perfectly refreshing cocktail. Make it with gin or vodka and sweeten it up a touch with a splash of simple syrup.

When I set out to make a drink last night, this Cucumber Basil Refresher is not what I had in mind. It’s hot here in Texas so I was craving something refreshing. I originally wanted to make a cucumber margarita but when I realized I didn’t have any limes, I switched gears. I got on Instagram and started scrolling through my feed until I saw something that caught my eye. I saw this recipe by City Gal Cocktails and I got so excited because the main ingredient was pineapple juice! I definitely have that from making my Easy Colada. Sweet.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

Buuuut then I saw that I needed lime juice for that recipe, too. Shoot. It’s okay. I’ll just make a classic Tom Collins. Those are always refreshing. Only…. NO LEMONS EITHER! What’s going on?! I had no limes and no lemons to speak of– can I even call myself a home mixologist? Of course there are plenty of cocktails that don’t call for citrus juice, but all the bright & refreshing ones do. I hung my head a bit as I opened the fridge for one last futile scan of its contents.

Cucumber. I have half of a cucumber! Yes yes, I can work with this. Usually, I muddle cucumber slices to impart their flavor in a drink, but since I was going to need liquid besides liquor, I pulled my juicer out of the pantry.

This is the exact juicer I have and I really, really like it. It’s easy to clean and has never clogged on me. Two musts when it comes to investing in a good juicer. It was actually a birthday gift from my longest-time bff (hi Han, ilu!) and she bought it so that I could incorporate fresh juices into my cocktails. Y’all. Get you friends who support you in your crazy endeavors like starting cocktail blogs.

You don’t need a juicer to make this recipe, though. If you’ve got a blender, that will work! Pour the gin (or vodka, tequila, or water if you want a mocktail) in the blender and add the cucumber & blend until you make a puree. Cucumbers have a high water content so it shouldn’t seize up on you. However, if you’re using a blender instead of a juicer, only use about 1/3 of the cucumber if you’re wanting only one Cucumber Basil Refresher. When I used my juicer, I went ahead and juiced the half cucumber that I had and stored the rest in a mason jar to give my daughter as a special treat with breakfast.

Once you’ve made the gin/cucumber puree, you’ll have to strain it using a fine mesh strainer like this one. Push on the pulp to squeeze every last drop out. You should be left with about 2 1/4 ounces.

This Cucumber Basil Refresher combines fresh cucumber juice, basil, & club soda for a perfectly refreshing cocktail. Make it with gin or vodka and sweeten it up a touch with a splash of simple syrup.

When I took my first sip of the cocktail, it was good but it needed to be a little brighter. Ugh, if only I had a dang lemon. I opened my fridge back up and suspiciously eyed the bottle of lemon juice.

I know, I know. I said in this post to ALWAYS use fresh citrus juice. But since I was only wanting a splash, I knew the bottled juice wouldn’t kill the cocktail. I may have had to eat my words as I drank my Cucumber Basil Refresher but you can’t call me dishonest.

This Cucumber Basil Refresher combines fresh cucumber juice, basil, & club soda for a perfectly refreshing cocktail. Make it with gin or vodka and sweeten it up a touch with a splash of simple syrup.

If you have a lemon, use the lemon. But if you need to use bottled lemon juice, I won’t tell if you won’t.

Also, I’ve gotta give my mom a quick shout out because she’s the real hero of this story. After all, she’s the reason I had the cucumber to begin with. She grew it in her garden and it tasted simply divine. But since you probs don’t have homegrown cukes at your disposal, store-bought will work just fine.

Cheers!

Ingredients for a Cucumber Basil Refresher

How to Make a Cucumber Basil Refresher

Add the gin and basil to a cocktail shaker and gently muddle the leaves. Add in the fresh cucumber juice, lemon juice, simple syrup, and ice. Shake well. Strain into a lowball glass filled with ice. Top off the rest of the class with the club soda. You may have to take a few sips to make room.

Cucumber Basil Refresher

A refreshing cocktail with fresh cucumber juice and basil. Use with gin or vodka!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 7 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • juicer or blender
  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ oz gin (or vodka)
  • ¾ oz fresh cucumber juice* (see note about how to make it)
  • ½ oz simple syrup
  • 6 fresh basil leaves
  • â…›-¼ oz lemon juice
  • 1+ oz club soda or sparkling water

Instructions
 

  • Add the gin and basil to a cocktail shaker and gently muddle the leaves.
  • Add in the fresh cucumber juice*, lemon juice, simple syrup, and ice.
  • Shake well.
  • Strain into a lowball glass filled with ice.
  • Top off the rest of the class with the club soda. You may have to take a few sips to make room.

Notes

*You can make fresh cucumber juice using either a juicer or a blender. If you’ve got a blender, here’s what to do:
Pour the 1.5 oz of gin (or vodka) in the blender and add a 1/3 of a cucumber & blend until you make a puree. Cucumbers have a high water content so it shouldn’t seize up on you. If it does, you can add the simple syrup and lemon juice in, too, to help it blend better. Once you’ve made the gin/cucumber puree, you’ll have to strain out the pulp using a fine mesh strainer like this one. Push on the pulp to squeeze every last drop out. 
MOCKTAIL OPTION: Leave out the alcohol and use either extra cucumber juice, lemon juice, or club soda in its place.
Keyword basil, beet simple syrup, cucumber, gin, lemon juice, vodka
gin

Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries| A Classic Cocktail with 5 Ingredients

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Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries | The Clover Club is a classic cocktail that's been around since the early 1900s. Originally created as the signature drink of a gentlemen's club, this libation is now considered a classic craft cocktail. Whether you typically like fruit cocktails or not, this is one drink you've gotta try.

It may sound like an exclusive establishment, but the Clover Club is actually a classic cocktail. Well, it was an exclusive establishment at one point. The Clover Club was a gentlemen’s club for journalists in Philadelphia back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Clover Club was located in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel on South Broad Street until the Prohibition led it to its demise in the 1920s.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like!

The Clover Club cocktail’s signature drink recipe was this very one. The Clover Club was the club’s preferred drink for years. Yep. A bright pink drink with raspberries was the most popular drink at a men’s club. I love that. It just goes to prove that cocktails do not have a gender. I don’t think drinks should be described as “girly” or “masculine”. Don’t be deterred by ordering a cocktail because you think it’s going to be perceived in a certain way. If the ingredients sound good, order it. If they don’t, then don’t.

Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries | The Clover Club is a classic cocktail that's been around since the early 1900s. Originally created as the signature drink of a gentlemen's club, this libation is now considered a classic craft cocktail. Whether you typically like fruit cocktails or not, this is one drink you've gotta try.

Anyway, the Clover Club did eventually fall out of popularity as more and more bars began using commercial-made syrups. Few bars kept fresh ingredients like raspberries, or even eggs, on hand to make cocktails. But now, thanks to the reemergence of Prohibition and Pre-Prohibition cocktails, the Clover Club cocktail is back on the lips of bartenders and bar-goers.

The traditional recipe calls for raspberry syrup which is simple enough to make at home. You can find a recipe for it here. If you make it, you could also add it to iced tea, lemonade, Sprite, or sparkling water for a fun alcohol-free treat.

However, I went the fresh raspberry route because it’s faster. Many bartenders use this method and I think it turned out well. Next time, I think I’ll try making the syrup for the heck of it. You could even use a couple spoonfuls of raspberry preserves if you have those in your fridge. Whether you choose to use straight-up raspberries or you opt to make the syrup, I implore you — DO NOT skip the egg! I know, I know… raw egg white in a cocktail sounds a little scary. I myself was hesitant to ever use one in a drink until almost 7 years into my cocktail-making journey.

Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries | The Clover Club is a classic cocktail that's been around since the early 1900s. Originally created as the signature drink of a gentlemen's club, this libation is now considered a classic craft cocktail. Whether you typically like fruit cocktails or not, this is one drink you've gotta try.

The first cocktail I made with a raw egg white was a whiskey sour. In preparation to make that drink, I did a little research and learned that only 1 in 20,000 eggs have Salmonella and that the average consumer will encounter 1 contaminated egg every 84 years. That made me feel more comfortable to try this unique ingredient out.

Incorporating an egg white into a cocktail recipe not only adds a silky smooth feel to the drink, but it also creates a beautiful foam. Adding egg whites also helps round out the harshness in some tart or bitter drinks. The Gin Campari Sour recipe calls for an egg white and it makes ALL the difference in that one.

After seeing the Clover Club pop up constantly on my Instagram feed, I’m glad to have finally made and enjoyed my first one. If you make one, be sure to tag me (@girlandtonic_) on Instagram!

Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries | The Clover Club is a classic cocktail that's been around since the early 1900s. Originally created as the signature drink of a gentlemen's club, this libation is now considered a classic craft cocktail. Whether you typically like fruit cocktails or not, this is one drink you've gotta try.

Ingredients for a Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries

How to Make a Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries

Add the gin, lemon juice, and raspberries to a cocktail shaker. Muddle the raspberries with a muddler or a back of a spoon, enough to smoosh them a bit. No need to pulverize them as that will just make it more difficult to strain later. Add the simple syrup and the egg white.

Now, we’re going to do a “dry shake”, which means we are going to shake the ingredients without ice in the cocktail shaker. The reason we do this is because it’ll help the egg white get extra foamy. Careful, though, because some metal cocktails shakers will leak a bit since the metal won’t be cold enough to contract and create a tight seal. I always do dry shakes over the sink. Dry shake for 20-30 seconds.

Next, add ice. This is a “wet shake”. Shake well for 30-45 seconds. I know. It seems excessive. But the more you shake, the more lush & meringue-y the foam will be.

Double-strain over a coupe glass. To double strain, pour the cocktail into a small mesh strainer over the glass. This will catch all the small raspberry seeds and pulp that find their way through the first strainer.

As the drink sits, the foam will rise to the top. Place a raspberry-clad cocktail pick onto that pillow-y goodness and enjoy.

Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries

A classic cocktail with raspberries dating back to the Pre-Prohibition era.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker
  • small mesh strainer

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ oz gin
  • ¾ oz lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
  • 4-6 raspberries
  • ½ oz simple syrup (see notes for recipe)
  • 1 egg white

Instructions
 

  • Add the gin, lemon juice, and raspberries to a cocktail shaker.
  • Muddle the raspberries with a muddler or a back of a spoon, enough to smoosh them a bit. No need to pulverize them as that will just make it more difficult to strain later.
  • Add the simple syrup and the egg white.
  • Do a "dry shake" (without ice) in your cocktail shaker for 20-30 seconds.
  • Add ice ("wet shake") and shake well from 30-45 seconds. The more you shake it, the better the foam.
  • Double-strain* into a coupe glass.
  • Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Notes

To make simple syrup, look at this easy 2-ingredient, 5-minute recipe.
*To double strain, pour the cocktail into a small mesh strainer over the glass. This will catch all the small raspberry seeds and pulp that find their way through the strainer that’s built into your cocktail shaker or your Hawthorne strainer.
Keyword egg white, gin, lemon, lemon juice, raspberries, simple syrup
Clover Club Cocktail with Fresh Raspberries | The Clover Club is a classic cocktail that's been around since the early 1900s. Originally created as the signature drink of a gentlemen's club, this libation is now considered a classic craft cocktail. Whether you typically like fruit cocktails or not, this is one drink you've gotta try.