Pink Lady
Gin, apple brandy, lemon and grenadine shaken with egg white into a pale pink, silky sour.
- Time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Glass
- Coupe
- Strength
- 2.4 UK units
How to make a Pink Lady
- Chill the coupe. Fill a coupe with ice and water and leave it while you make the drink.
- Dry shake. Pour the gin, apple brandy, lemon juice, grenadine and egg white into a shaker with no ice. Shake hard for about 10 seconds, 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. Tip out the ice water and strain through a Hawthorne strainer and a fine strainer into the coupe. The top should be pale pink and foamy.
- Garnish and serve. Drop the cherry in the glass or rest it on a pick across the rim and serve straight away, while the foam is thick.
- Glass
- CoupeNo coupe? A small wine glass or a martini glass.
- Ice
- No ice
- Garnish
- A cocktail cherry on a pickOr: Leave it plain; the foam is garnish enough.
What you need to make a Pink Lady
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.
Bottles we'd use
- London dry ginBeefeater or Tanqueray: a firm juniper gin holds its own against the fruit.Find it on Amazon
- CalvadosPère Magloire Fine or Boulard: a French apple brandy that is easy to find in the UK.Find it on Amazon
- GrenadineGiffard or Monin grenadine taste of pomegranate, not just sugar.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.
Pink Lady variations and swaps
Use 10 ml of grenadine for a drier drink, and 15 ml if you want it sweeter and pinker. A few older recipes add 15 ml of single cream, which makes the drink softer and richer. Replace the apple brandy with extra gin for a simpler version, or with a good bourbon for something warmer. A Jack Rose is a close cousin made with apple brandy as the main spirit, with lemon or lime and grenadine. For an egg-free drink, use aquafaba and shake it just the same.
The Pink Lady story
The Pink Lady is an old gin classic. It is often linked to a Broadway musical of the same name from the early twentieth century, though accounts of its origin differ. It was a popular order for decades before it fell out of fashion, and bartenders have since brought it back.
Apple brandy (Calvados is the French kind) gives the gin a soft, fruity depth, and grenadine gives the pink colour and a little sweetness. Use real pomegranate grenadine if you can, as some cheap ones taste only of sugar. The egg white makes the foam, and shaking once without ice builds it.
Pink Lady: your questions answered
What is in a Pink Lady?
A Pink Lady is made with 45 ml London dry gin, 15 ml apple brandy, 15 ml fresh lemon juice, 10 ml grenadine and an egg white. Garnish: a cocktail cherry on a pick.
Is a Pink Lady shaken or stirred?
A Pink Lady 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 Pink Lady?
Made to this recipe, a Pink Lady contains about 2.4 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 Pink Lady in?
Serve a Pink Lady in a coupe. No coupe? A small wine glass or a martini glass.
