Clover Club (1930 Adaptation)
A raspberry Clover Club adapted from the 1930 Savoy recipe, with gin, lemon and pasteurized egg white. Shake and fine-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Original yieldYield
- 1 cocktail1 cocktail
- PrepPrep time
- TotalTotal time
About 5 minutes with chilled glasses, prepared syrups and ice ready; advance preparation is additional.
Published Updated
Original recipe: 1 cocktail
The story behind the recipe
A raspberry rests on the Clover Club's white foam. Gin, lemon and raspberry syrup make a short fruit sour, with a softer feel from egg white.
Raspberry has a printed precedent
Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book gives a Clover Club in 1930 with gin, lemon or lime, grenadine and an egg white. A Ciro's ABC of Mixing Cocktails entry uses raspberry syrup, along with Italian vermouth. Pink, fruity foamed drinks had room for different formulas in the old books.
This recipe follows the Savoy drink with raspberry in place of grenadine and a gin-led modern measure. The smaller syrup proportion leaves lemon and gin easy to notice. The notes explain how this version differs from each source.
The raspberry choice is worth making deliberately. Grenadine and raspberry syrup can both produce pink drinks, but their fruit flavors aren't interchangeable. A guest choosing the raspberry cocktail should be offered that flavor, not whichever red bottle happens to be nearest the shaker.
Read more about this recipe
Pick a syrup you'd drink
Choose raspberry syrup intended for mixing drinks. Bottles vary in fruit content, sweetness and color. A strongly concentrated product will give a different impression from a mild one at the same measure.
Lemon provides the sharp edge. Its measured juice keeps the amount steady from one glass to the next, though the acidity of fruit still varies. The syrup and lemon meet in small quantities beside a larger gin pour.
Dry gin supplies a botanical base. The raspberry softens its edges without turning the recipe into a long fruit punch. If you want a pineapple-led choice instead, Mary Pickford brings rum and a different fruit to the same party menu.
Foam changes the sip
Egg white introduces a soft texture as well as the pale cap you can see. The short first shake without ice begins aeration; the second shake chills and dilutes the mixture. Fine-straining leaves the surface free of loose ice shards.
The measured 20 ml portion is smaller and more repeatable than assuming every egg contains the same white. Use the pasteurized product specified in the ingredient list, suitable for uncooked recipes. Its handling directions remain part of preparing the drink.
A foamed cocktail asks for some attention at serving. A row of glasses prepared long ahead will have a different surface from one poured while the shaker is still cold. For a gathering, the still, non-egg measures can be ready in the refrigerator, with egg white added to the batch being served.
A coupe with room for the cap
A small chilled coupe suits the short liquid portion and its foam. Leave room above the pour so the top doesn't have to be pressed against the rim.
The one raspberry is enough. Set it gently onto the foam, where its color sits against the white. A crowded berry skewer would add a garnish problem to a drink already wearing its decoration.
A Night at the Speakeasy uses Clover Club as the fruity, foamed option beside mint, pineapple and a wine-topped sour. The contrast helps a host offer a real choice, with one cold glass made when it's wanted.
Read the original wording
Historical reference only. Follow the ingredients and cooking steps below when cooking.
Historical ingredients
- The Juice of ½ Lemon.
- or of 1 Lime.
- ⅓ Grenadine.
- The White of 1 Egg.
- ⅔ Dry Gin.
Historical method
Shake well and strain into medium size glass.
Make it your wayOriginal: 1 serving · Makes 1 cocktail
Original recipe: 1 cocktail
Ingredients
For 1 cocktail. Quantities are shown as written.
Source measurement convention: Metric. Explicit unit definitions take precedence; unconfirmed measures must be checked before conversion.
Original quantities for 1 cocktail.
- Dry gin45 ml
- Raspberry syrup15 ml
- Fresh lemon juice15 ml
- Pasteurized liquid egg white suitable for uncooked recipes20 ml
- Fresh raspberry, for garnish1
Measurement notes
Measurement notes
Original ingredients
- 45 ml dry gin
- 15 ml raspberry syrup
- 15 ml fresh lemon juice
- 20 ml pasteurized liquid egg white suitable for uncooked recipes
- 1 fresh raspberry, for garnish
Equipment
Cocktail shaker
Jigger or measuring glass
Fine strainer
Coupe glass
Instructions
Measure the cocktail
Chill a small coupe. Measure the dry gin, raspberry syrup, lemon juice and pasteurized egg white into an empty shaker. Use a pasteurized egg product suitable for uncooked recipes; check its label for handling directions.
Start the foam
Close securely and shake without ice for about 10 seconds to begin building the foam. Hold the shaker firmly; an unchilled shaker may not seal as tightly as a cold one.
Shake with ice
Add ice cubes to the shaker. Close and shake vigorously for another 10 to 15 seconds, until the outside feels very cold.
Fine-strain and garnish
Strain through the shaker strainer and a fine strainer into the chilled coupe, leaving the mixing ice behind. Set the raspberry gently on the foam and serve promptly.
Estimated calories 160 kcal
Nutrition portion: whole recipe · Original yield: 1 cocktail
Source & assumptions
Ingredient-based estimate using CoFID 2021, USDA SR Legacy (2018), representative labels for 58 and CO London Dry Gin (43% ABV), Monin Raspberry Syrup. About 160 kcal per nutrition portion (whole recipe). Uses representative London dry gin at 43% ABV, standard raspberry syrup and liquid egg white. Excludes the raspberry garnish. Actual ingredients and preparation affect the estimate.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
Measure larger batches accurately, but shake only what your shaker comfortably holds. Add the measured egg white at service and garnish each glass with one raspberry.
Original recipe notes
These notes describe the original recipe. Quantities mentioned here do not change when you adjust servings.
Principal reference: Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), p. 48. We replace grenadine with raspberry syrup and change the gin:syrup ratio from 2:1 to 3:1, with measured lemon and pasteurized egg white, a short dry shake and raspberry garnish.
Raspberry precedent: “Harry” of Ciro's ABC of Mixing Cocktails, p. 22, also includes Italian vermouth. The copy is attributed to 1923, with an undated title page.
Use prepared raspberry syrup; making and cooling homemade syrup takes additional time. Keep pasteurized egg white refrigerated as its label directs and add it at service. Mixing ice is strained out.
Read the scaling guide. Times, temperatures and equipment need their own consideration. Open the recipe tool to review and correct individual amounts.
Sources and attribution
Recipe details
- Recipe tradition
- Vintage
- Course or meal
- Drink
- Cuisine
- Other / International
- Source decade
- 1930s
- Cooking method
- No-cook
- Occasion
- Entertaining
- Browse category
- Drinks & Cocktails