White Lady

Light and bubbly

Origin

The White Lady was first created in London in 1919 by Harry MacElhone. Originally, it combined Creme de Menthe, Triple Sec and Lemon Juice. Four years later, while working at Harry’s American Bar in Paris, Harry decided to change the recipe to remove the Creme de Menthe and add Gin. A few years later he released a book ‘Barflies & Cocktails’, containing a different recipe for the white lady - this time swapping lemon juice for brandy, in different ratios. So, he couldn’t make up his mind. In 1930, Harry Craddock laid down the definitive recipe in his iconic ‘Savoy Cocktail Book’ which is still the recipe we use today. A few years after the White Lady became popular in London, a bar manager at The Savoy suggested adding egg white. Today, egg white is considered optional. We love it though, so that’s what we’re making.

How to make it

1. Add all the ingredients into a shaking tin
2. Give it a dry shake (no ice) for 10 seconds to emulsify everything with the egg white. Hold it tight, it’ll want to expand
3. Now add ice and shake for 10 seconds, hold tight!
4. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass

On the nose you get a light citrus perfume. On tasting this cocktail is light, bubbly, candied and sweet. You get some richness and depth of flavour if you’re using Dry Curacao instead of Triple Sec. The citrus is really fresh and bright, orange and lemon are constant flavours through this drink. If you’re a G&T lover or a fruity cocktail drinker, you’ll like this.

Enjoy!

More great cocktails to try