Clover Club
Gin, lemon and raspberry shaken with egg white into a soft pink sour.
- Time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Glass
- Coupe
- Strength
- 2 UK units
How to make a Clover Club
- Crush the raspberries. Put the raspberries in the shaker and mash them to a rough pulp with the end of a bar spoon.
- Add everything but the ice. Pour in the gin, lemon juice, syrup and egg white. Shake hard for about 10 seconds without ice, until the tin feels lighter and the liquid has thickened.
- Shake again with ice. Open the tin, add a handful of ice and shake for another 12 seconds, until the tin is frosty.
- Double strain. Strain through a Hawthorne strainer and a fine strainer into a chilled coupe, so the seeds stay behind. The top should look pale pink and foamy.
- Garnish and serve. Rest three raspberries on a pick across the rim and serve straight away, while the foam is still thick.
- Glass
- CoupeNo coupe? A small wine glass or a martini glass.
- Ice
- No ice
- Garnish
- Three raspberries on a pickOr: Leave it plain; the foam is garnish enough.
What you need to make a Clover Club
Kit
JiggerA double-ended measure, usually 25 ml and 50 ml.
Cocktail shakerA two-piece Boston tin is the easiest to use and clean.
StrainerA Hawthorne strainer fits over the tin or glass.
Fine strainerA small tea strainer catches ice shards.
Citrus squeezerFresh juice makes the biggest difference of anything.
Bar spoonA long teaspoon does the job.
Bottles we'd use
- London dry ginA plain juniper gin such as Gordon's or Beefeater lets the raspberry come through.Find it on Amazon
- Frozen raspberriesThawed frozen fruit is riper and cheaper than out-of-season fresh.Find it on Amazon
Links to Amazon are affiliate links: if you buy through them, Bar Bandol may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The Clover Club story
The name comes from the Clover Club, a gentlemen's club in Philadelphia that met at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel around the 1890s. The drink was popular there and then in New York bars, and it was a staple of pre-Prohibition menus before it slipped out of fashion.
The raspberry gives it colour and tartness, the egg white gives it a silky foam. If you would rather not use raw egg, 30 ml of aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas) works in the same way. If it tastes too sharp, add a little more syrup.
Clover Club: your questions answered
What is in a Clover Club?
A Clover Club is made with 50 ml London dry gin, 15 ml fresh lemon juice, 15 ml sugar syrup, 6 raspberries and an egg white. Garnish: three raspberries on a pick.
Is a Clover Club shaken or stirred?
A Clover Club is shaken, not stirred. Shaking hard with ice chills it quickly and helps whip the egg or cream into a light texture, which stirring cannot do. Shake until the outside of the shaker feels very cold.
How strong is a Clover Club?
Made to this recipe, a Clover Club contains about 2 UK units of alcohol per drink. That is worked out from typical bottle strengths, so it changes with the bottles you use. UK guidelines advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week.
What glass do you serve a Clover Club in?
Serve a Clover Club in a coupe. No coupe? A small wine glass or a martini glass.
