Welcome to the Clover Club — come in and take a sip of this incredible cocktail full of raspberry flavor and with a velvety texture. It’s perfect for girls’ night, date night or any night you fancy a high-end cocktail.
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Clover Club cocktail recipe
Some nights are all about a quick and easy cocktail like a vodka soda, or a gin and tonic.
But other nights, a cocktail recipe that requires a lot of TLC is worth the effort.
The Clover Club is precisely that second kind of cocktail. It’s made with gin, dry vermouth, raspberry syrup, egg white and lemon juice. On top, it’s garnished with a spear of ruby red, fresh raspberries.
The resulting drink is a sweet, supple, smooth sipper. It takes some work to put together, but it’s worth every toss of the cocktail shaker.
More gin cocktail recipes: Pimm’s Cup • Strawberry Martini • Blackberry Bramble • Greyhound • French 75
Why you’ll love this recipe
The Clover Club might be your new favorite Friday night cocktail, for a few reasons:
- While it’s not a cocktail for beginners, it is absolutely worth the effort.
- It taste like a bushel of fresh raspberries.
- It’s upscale for nights when you want a fancy or cocktail.
This is a great drink to order at craft cocktail bars. But it’s a lot of work, so be considerate before ordering it during a busy happy hour.
Serve these up at girls’ night, date night or poker night. They’re also perfect for happy hour at home or to whip up on Valentine’s Day.
What is the Clover Club?
The Clover Club is a gin cocktail made with dry vermouth, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, and egg white. Typically made with Plymouth gin, the drink is a spin on the pink lady cocktail.
The drink’s history dates back to a late 1800s gentleman’s Club of the same name in the Philadelphia Bellevue-Stratford Hotel.
But according to The Essential Bar Book by Jennifer Fiedler, the first known recipe for the Clover Club was published in the bar book for the Waldorf Astoria in New York City in 1911.
The drink didn’t appear on menus for much of the mid-20th century, perhaps because of the raw egg white in the recipe, but it has seen a resurgence in the last couple of decades.
Today, you can try a Clover Club cocktail at the Clover Club Bar in Brooklyn owned by Julie Reiner.
Tools & glassware
To make a clover club, you will need a few pieces of equipment:
- cocktail shaker: I prefer a Boston shaker over a three-piece, but any will work.
- jigger: This is for measuring out the ingredients.
- egg separator: Not totally necessary, but super handy nonetheless!
- Hawthorne strainer: The best strainer for cocktails.
- cocktail picks: For the raspberry garnish!
To serve up this pretty pink drink, a coupe glass with a stem is traditional.
favorite coupe glasses
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Ingredients
The Clover club calls for just five ingredients plus a garnish of fresh raspberries.
Plymouth Gin
Plymouth gin is both a style of gin and a brand of gin. It is made in Plymouth England, and using a method that is different from other types of gin.
If you can’t get your hands on Plymouth gin, you can substitute a London dry gin.
Learn more about the different types of gin you can stock in your home bar.
Dry vermouth
You are going to pick up a bottle of dry vermouth, which is also useful for martinis and other cocktails. Be sure to keep it in the fridge once you open it!
There are lots of brands of vermouth to try. Dolin vermouth is Reiner’s preference.
Check out my guide to vermouth to learn more about this critical spirit for your home bar.
Egg white
Egg white in cocktails provides a frothy, foamy layer on top of the cocktail. It also brings a smooth, silky texture to any drink.
You can also find egg white in the whiskey sour recipe, as well as in the complicated and frothy Ramos gin fizz.
But do be careful when mixing drinks with egg white and be sure to follow food safety recommendations.
Raw egg warning
Consuming raw or lightly-cooked eggs poses a risk for food-borne illness.
Raspberry syrup
You can make your own raspberry simple syrup at home with water, sugar and fresh raspberries. Here is my raspberry syrup recipe. You can also order it online.
If you don’t want to take the time to make raspberry syrup, you can use a muddler to squish the juices out of a few fresh raspberries with sugar or plain simple syrup.
In a pinch, you could use grenadine syrup, but if you have the time or means to make or buy the raspberry, you won’t regret it. And if you have any left over, make a raspberry martini.
Lemon juice
As with any cocktail, fresh lemon juice makes a big difference. While you can use bottled concentrate, it does have a more robust sour flavor than fresh juice.
Since you’re already going the extra mile to make the complicated Clover Club cocktail, you might as well juice a lemon too!
favorite juicers
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Garnish
The garnish for a Clover Club is a cocktail pick piercing two, three or four fresh raspberries perched on the glass’s edge.
Cocktail picks are a great addition to your home bar because they can be used for garnishes on all kinds of cocktails.
favorite cocktail picks
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stainless steel cocktail picks
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Variations and substitutions
Strawberry Clover Club: Try making this drink with strawberry syrup, instead of raspberry, and using a strawberry garnish.
Blueberry Clover Club: Use blueberry syrup, instead of raspberry syrup for a sweet spin on this cocktail.
Blackberry Clover Club: Try this drink with blackberry syrup and a cocktail pick with fresh blackberries on top.
Vegan Clover Club: Substitute the egg white with aquafaba, the juice from cooked chickpeas. It has similar properties to egg white. You could also use a vegan cocktail foamer
Non-alcoholic Clover Club: Try making this drink with a zero-proof spirit such as Ritual gin alternative. For the vermouth, try Lyre’s Apéritif Dry.
How to make a Clover Club
Making the Clover Club isn’t hard per se, but it is time-intensive because you will want to shake it up really well! Here’s how to do it:
To a cocktail shaker without ice, add gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white.
Note: If you don’t have raspberry syrup, you can muddle a few with plain simple syrup or white sugar.
Cover and shake well for at least 30 seconds.
Then add ice and shake again for at least 30 seconds. Shake vigorously to aggravate the egg white and get the best layer of foam on top.
Strain into a coupe glass. (Double strain it if you used fresh raspberries.)
Garnish with raspberries on a cocktail pick. You can typically fit up to three or four.
Tips & tricks
Do the dry shake, without ice, then shake with ice. The first shake without ice helps to combine all of the ingredients. The second shake helps to invigorate the egg white and produce the thick foam the drink requires.
Shake well for several minutes. It is important to shake for a long time to get the best, thickest egg white foam.
What to serve with a Clover Club
The Clover Club is a delicious sipper with both appetizers and desserts.
Before dinner, try it with a charcuterie board, baked brie with honey and bacon, or marinated cheese.
For dessert, try it with a raspberry parfait, raspberry donut or any other raspberry dessert.
It also taste great with anything lemon or lime, such as lemon bars, lemon cookies and ginger ale cake.
FAQ
The Clover Club bar in Brooklyn is owned by master mixologist Julie Reiner.
The original Clover Club was served at a gentleman’s club of the same name in a Philadelphia hotel called the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel.
The Clover Club is a classic cocktail made with Plymouth gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice, egg white and raspberry syrup. In lieu of raspberry syrup, fresh raspberries can be muddled with plain simple syrup.
More classic cocktails
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Clover Club Cocktail
ingredients
- ½ ounce gin
- ½ ounce dry vermouth
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- ½ ounce raspberry syrup see note
- ½ ounce egg white
- 3 fresh raspberries for garnish
instructions
- To a cocktail shaker without ice, add gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white.
- Shake well for 30 seconds. Add ice and shake again for 30 seconds. Shake vigorously to aggravate the egg white and get the best layer of foam on top.
- Strain into a coupe glass.
- Garnish with three raspberries on a cocktail pick.
notes
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