🍓 Clover Club

A century-old gin sour with raspberry and egg white foam — elegance in a coupe.

6 minutes
Serves 1
Shaken
Gin cocktail
Ingredients
  • 2 oz London Dry gin
  • ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
  • ½ oz raspberry syrup (see tip)
  • ½ oz simple syrup
  • 1 egg white (or 1 oz aquafaba for vegan version)
  • 3 raspberries — to garnish
  • RASPBERRY SYRUP: simmer equal parts fresh raspberries, sugar, and water for 5 minutes. Strain and cool.
Method
  1. 1
    Dry shakeCombine gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, simple syrup, and egg white in a shaker without ice. Shake hard for 15 seconds. This is the dry shake — it builds the foam from the egg white without diluting the drink.
  2. 2
    Wet shakeAdd ice to the shaker and shake again for another 12–15 seconds. The wet shake chills and dilutes the drink while keeping the foam structure from the dry shake.
  3. 3
    Fine strainDouble strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a chilled coupe glass. Hold the strainer slightly above the glass and pour slowly to preserve the foam.
  4. 4
    GarnishPlace 3 fresh raspberries on the surface of the foam. They'll sit naturally without sinking if your foam is thick enough. Serve immediately.

The Dry Shake Technique

The dry shake (shaking without ice first) is essential for any egg white cocktail. When you shake without ice, the egg white proteins undergo shear stress from the violent agitation, unfolding and trapping air to create foam. If you add ice immediately, the cold temperature stiffens the proteins too fast and the foam is smaller and coarser.

Always do the dry shake first, add ice, then wet shake. Some bartenders do it in reverse (wet then dry, called a 'reverse dry shake') — this produces a slightly different foam texture that some prefer. Either works — just do two shakes total, one with ice and one without.

Variations

🫐 Blueberry Clover Club

Replace raspberry syrup with blueberry syrup. Deep purple colour, slightly less tart, more berry complexity.

🌹 Rose Clover Club

Replace ¼ oz simple syrup with rose water and use rose hip syrup instead of raspberry. Floral and delicate — a spring drink.

🌿 Basil Clover Club

Add 4 fresh basil leaves to the dry shake. The herb adds an anise-like savouriness to the sweet-tart raspberry that's surprisingly compelling.

🥂 Clover Club Fizz

Add 2 oz soda water to the glass before straining the cocktail in. Pour slowly to preserve the foam. Lighter and more approachable.

Related
🍓 Clover Club — A-Z Card Quick reference version 🌿 Gin Guide Which gin to use here 🍸 Classic Gin Cocktails More gin recipes 🌿 Gin Basil Smash Another fresh herb gin cocktail 📖 All Cocktail Recipes Browse the full collection