White Lady
A classic gin sour with fresh lemon, sweetness from orange liqueur and a silky egg-white foam.
Ingredients
- London Dry gin45 ml
- Cointreau22.5 ml
- Lemon juice, freshly squeezed22.5 ml
- Simple syrup (1 part Sugar, 1 part Water)7.5 ml
- Egg white15 ml
- Lemon, to garnish (optional)1 twist
Method
- Pour the gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, syrup and egg white into a shaker.
- Dry shake without ice for about 10 seconds so the egg white emulsifies into a silky texture.
- Add plenty of ice and shake hard again for 10–15 seconds, until the shaker is ice cold.
- Double strain into a chilled coupe to catch ice shards and leave a smooth surface.
- Twist a strip of lemon peel over the drink to release its oils and use it as the garnish.
Credit Harry MacElhone, Harry's New York Bar, Paris
About this drink
Harry MacElhone first created a White Lady in London in 1919, then built on crème de menthe. By the late 1920s, at Harry's New York Bar in Paris, he had turned it into the gin-based classic we know today, and it soon found its way into Harry Craddock's legendary Savoy Cocktail Book. The egg white is a later addition that gives the drink its signature silky foam.
Questions and answers
What kind of drink is the White Lady?
A gin Sidecar, with gin in place of cognac: an elegant, citrus-fresh sour of the 1920s, with egg white for a silky texture.
Why dry shake a White Lady?
Shaking without ice emulsifies the egg white into a stable foam before the ice shake chills and dilutes the drink properly. Both steps are needed for the soft, creamy finish.
