The White Lady is a classic cocktail from the early 1900s that is popular even today. As with many cocktails from that era, there is some disagreement on who actually invented this luxurious cocktail. But the main consensus is that a bartender named Harry MacElhone from London’s Ciro Club invented it in 1919. He combined Crème De Menthe, Cointreau, and lemon juice to make a popular cocktail for the locals to sip. Later in 1923, Mr. MacElhone opened his own bar in Paris called The New York Bar. He swapped out the crème de Menthe for gin, and it became a staple for his bar.
But the story doesn’t end there. Harry Craddock, a bartender at London’s famous Savoy Hotel, decided to play around with the now famous cocktail recipe. At the Hotel’s American Bar, he added a larger proportion of gin, making the cocktail more dry and even easier to drink. The cocktail became so popular that Mr. Chaddok, the story goes, even placed a whole cocktail shaker of the White Lady inside the walls when the bar was being renovated. Harry Chaddock is a legend as one of the greats of bartending. Besides the White Lady, he’s famous for many other classic cocktails, including the Corpse Reviver No. 2. He is also considered the godfather of the martini.
A few years later, the final part of the evolution of the White Lady happened. The then head of the same American Bar, Peter Dorelli, added an egg white to The White Lady. An egg white gives the cocktail the velvety rich mouthfeel we know today.
This is one of the first times I have tried using an egg white in a cocktail. I am sure some of you might hesitate to use a raw egg white in a drink. But by adding an egg white, you will transform the texture into something fantastic. It brings just the right velvetiness to the texture of this delicious cocktail and is what gives The White Lady its frothy white look. The White lady is light, bright, not very sweet, and wonderfully delicious. It is not traditional to garnish with an orange peel, but I found it pulls out more of the orange from the Cointreau. I used my absolute favorite gin from Spring44. For The White Lady, you need a smooth, clean gin, and Spring44’s gin is perfect for this cocktail.
As always, when doing a shaken cocktail, I recommend you double strain it. When you double strain a cocktail, start with a bigger one from the shaker itself or use a hawthorn strainer. (like this one from Amazon) Then through a little fine mesh strainer, you will eliminate any ice shards, making the final cocktail very smooth. It is something I have learned that will up your cocktail bartending skills. I have given links to the various strainers and a shaker if you are in the market for a new one. Please consider helping fund my Blog. I get a tiny commission on any purchase through a link on this page.
Though our precious world seems like it is rounding a corner, we still have a ways to go. Please be mindful of others and think about our actions and desires for things to be back to normal before making decisions. What we choose to do now will make getting back to normal easier. We are almost there if we all just can hang on. Use patience, be safe and healthy. That’s all for this week. I hope you have a fantastic day and enjoy a white lady on me! I’ll be back at it next week!
- 2 oz Gin
- ½ oz Cointreau
- ½ oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg white
- Orange peel for garnish optional
-
Chill a classic coup glass either in the fridge or fill with ice.
-
To a cocktail shaker, add the gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and the egg white.
-
Seal the shaker and dry shake without ice for a minute or 2 until the mixture is very frothy.
-
Add several ice cubes or 1 large ice cube and shake again for several seconds until very cold.
-
Pour and double strain into the chilled glass. (Remember to remove the ice from the coupe if using ice to chill.)
-
Garnish with the orange peel if using.
