The white lady cocktail. A mixed-base cocktail built with gin, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.
Who Invented the White Lady Cocktail?
The White Lady cocktail is a classic drink that many people have claimed to have created.
The original idea was that Harry McElhone, a famous bartender, created it while he worked at London's Ciro Club in 1919. He used equal amounts of white creme, triple sec, and lemon juice at that time. He adapted the recipe to use gin, but only after opening Harry's New York Bar in Paris in 1923.
Harry Craddock of The American Bar at The Savoy, London, also deserves a lot of credit. He published the recipe in the 1930's Savoy Cocktail Book. In this book, he increased the volume of gin, making it drier. Peter Dorelli, a legendary former manager at The American Bar, suggested that the drink be flavored with egg whites to give it a silky and smooth finish, so yes! There are a lot of names involved in the creation of this beauty.
It doesn't matter who the original creator was; it is safe to say that Craddock made quite a few of these drinks at The American Bar. Joe Gilmore (another ex-head barman at The Savoy) claims that the White Lady was Laurel and Hardy’s favorite drink! (the comedian duo!)
White Lady
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Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 45 ml Gin
- 30 ml cointreau
- 20 ml Lemon juice
- 1 Egg white (Optional, I use it.)
- 20 ml Sugar Syrup (Optional, I don't use it.)
- 1 Large ice cube
Instructions
- Pour everything except ice in a shaker and shake for 15 seconds to create a nice egg froth.
- Now open the shaker and put in the ice cube and shake everything again for 15 seconds.
- Strain the drink into a cocktail glass.
- Done!
