Egg whites are a staple of the cocktail world. They are in part responsible for the whiskey sour (and, by proxy, the entire cocktail category of sours, as you’ll see with some of the cocktails below).
While they may not seem like they belong in any cocktail recipe, they are in fact critical because they deliver texture and body that you simply cannot recreate with other ingredients.
If you’re using an egg white the right way, the cocktail that you create is going to taste, for lack of a better term, silky. You can create a silky feel by using other ingredients, such as cream, but the egg white shines in that the cocktail remains light and not weighed down by the heaviness of the cream or whatever else you’re using for silkiness. Egg whites also contribute to the aesthetics of a drink—more often than not, an egg white cocktail is going to have a foamy head on it, like a beer or a latté.
Below, we’ve collected a couple new egg white cocktails that, even if you consider yourself the master of sours, you’re going to want to shake up soon.
Matcha Do About Nothing
(Created by Ergys Dizdari, SIP, Chicago, pictured)
- 1.5 oz. FEW Breakfast Gin
- .5 oz. Ginger liqueur
- .75 oz. Matcha Tea Syrup*
- 1 Egg white
- Peychaud’s Bitters
Method: Add all the ingredients to a shaker and shake (without ice). Open the shaker, fill with ice and shake again. Strain into a coupe or tulip glass and garnish with 3 drops of Peychaud’s Bitters.
*Matcha Tea Syrup:
Combine 2 cups water, 2 cups sugar and 2 tsp. matcha powder. Heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves completely. Let cool and store in the refrigerator.
LaSalle St. Sour
(Created by Jess Lambert, Vol. 39, Chicago)
- 1 oz Cognac
- 1 oz Bourbon
- .75 oz Broiled lemon
- .5 oz Simple Syrup
- Egg White
- 2 dash Angostura Bitters
Method: Combine ingredients, dry shake. Add ice and shake again until combined. Strain and serve up in a coupe glass. Garnish with a red wine reduction float.
Deco The Halls
(Created by Stephen King, The Clocktower, NYC)
- 5 oz Patrón Silver
- .75 oz Lemon juice
- .5 oz Simple Syrup
- 1 oz egg whites
- 3 Drops orange blossom water
Method: Combine ingredients in shaker with a handful of crushed ice and shake until ice is completely melted and drink is nice and frothy. Pour through a fine strainer into coupe glass. Allow cocktail to settle into different layers. Hold stencil over the top of the cocktail and spray angostura to produce ‘art deco’ pattern.
Electric Current Fizz
(Created by Chaim Dauermann, Head Bartender, The Up & Up, NYC)
- 2 oz Old Tom Gin (We use Hayman’s Old Tom)
- 75 oz Lemon Juice
- 75 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 ratio)
- White from 1 medium egg
- Seltzer
Method: Add gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice to a shaker tin. Crack the egg. Put the white for the drink and set aside the yolk. Dry shake the drink (shake without ice) then shake with ice and strain into chilled fizz glass.
Serve the yolk in the half shell. Season with black pepper, salt, and vinegar or brine. Add hot sauce (like Cholula) if desired. Drink the yolk, then wash it down with the fizz.
Sgt. Pepper
(Created by Corey Creason, Bar SixtyFive & The Rainbow Room, NYC)
- 2 oz Botanist Gin
- 1 oz Lillet Blanc
- .25 oz Luxardo Maraschino
- .25 oz Green Chartreuse
- .25 oz Simple Egg White
Method: Dry shake, wet shake, double strain into a chilled coupe, garnish with freshly cracked black pepper.
Pisco Sour
- 2 oz El Gobernador Pisco
- ¾ oz fresh lime juice
- ½ oz simple syrup
- 1 fresh egg white
- Angostura bitters
Method: Dry shake, shake again with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with
