As summer is fast disappearing, now is the last chance to enjoy some delicious summer produce like raspberries. And to my mind there’s no greater raspberry cocktail than the Clover Club, a pre-Prohibiton drink which continues to delight to this day.
Don’t judge this drink by its pretty pink color. It’s not froofy or sweet at all when made well — rather it’s sharp, fruity, and well balanced. If you like the sharp tang of a fresh raspberry, then you’ll love the Clover Club.
How to make a Clover Club
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. dry gin
- 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 oz raspberry syrup
- 1 egg white
- Fresh raspberries for garnish
Method:
Add the gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, and egg whites to a shaker without ice, and shake well. One the mixture is well combined and the egg white is frothy, add ice and shake again until the tin is cold.
Double strain the mixture into a coupe glass, and garnish with fresh raspberries.
Tweaks to the Clover Club recipe
This drink is delicious, and one of its prime features is its rich, frothy head. This is created by the egg white, which froths up when shaken. However, not everyone wants to use egg white, whether this is due to them being vegan, having concerns about uncooked eggs, or simply not having egg on hand. In that case, you can use aquafaba instead. Aquafaba is the water that canned chickpeas come in, which is full of protein and creates a similarly frothy head.
So next time you open a can of chickpeas, don’t drain the water away. Instead collect it and pour it into an ice tray, then stick it in the freezer. Fresh aquafaba works fine too, but I find it convenient to have it frozen so it’s on hand whenever I need it. I would substitute one small to medium sized ice cube of aqufaba for one egg white in this recipe, though you may have to shake for a bit longer until the frozen aquafaba dissolves.
Another item on the ingredients list that you might want to play with is the raspberry syrup. While you can buy commercially made fruit syrups from brands like Monin, it’s always preferable to make your own syrups for freshness. Use the best, freshest raspberries you can find to make a syrup which captures all of their delicious flavor.
The traditional way to make a flavored syrup is to mix equal parts of water and sugar with a generous quantity of raspberries, then heat this on the stove until the raspberries are soft and the sugar is dissolved. Once the mixture is cool, you strain it through cheesecloth to create the syrup.
However, there’s a different method which I love to use for soft fruits like strawberries and raspberries, which I find both simpler to execute and to give a more punchy flavor result. To do this, you chop the raspberries in half (or even use them whole if they’re small) and put them in a bowl. Then cover them with white sugar.
That’s it! You leave the mixture on the side at room temperature for an hour or so, and the juice from the raspberries will be leached out by the sugar. You’ll find there is a thick, red liquid in the bottom of the bowl which you can pour off and use immediately.
