Wind down with a Clover Club with raspberry syrup
A Clover Club can be made with any high-quality gin, but a good London dry gin will complement the cocktail's tart fruit and silky body.
The Clover Club is a memorable cocktail and the perfect way to welcome 2023. Without too much guesswork, we imagine most people served a fair amount of Method Cap Classique on New Year’s Eve. However, if you’re interested in elevating the celebrations, we suggest upping your drinks game with the decadent Clover Club as your chosen Friday cocktail. It works for any occasion, and although it seems complicated, it really is not.
The Clover Club looks a bit like cotton candy and tastes like raspberry ice cream spiked with gin – but it isn’t especially sweet. In other words, it’s perfect for all palettes and a classy addition to the menu.
Are you ready for a little cocktail trivia? Here goes…our cocktail in question today is a classic cocktail, and the recipe was first recorded in print in 1909 (although there was a similar recipe recorded in 1908 called “The Clover Leaf”). If you guessed Clover Club, you guessed right!
This tangy gin sour was named after a gentleman’s club in Philadelphia, founded in 1896. The Clover Club counted prominent lawyers, writers, and politicians among its members. Here’s the kicker, most modern-day recipes call for a Clover Club with raspberry syrup, but the original recipe called for “a pony of grenadine”, which is not cherry-flavoured as most people think. Grenadine is a non-alcoholic syrup made from pomegranate and is often used to add a bit of red drama to cocktails. This syrup makes more than just a casual appearance; the distinctive addition of Grenadine plays a big part in the flavour profile.
Trivia aside, it’s a fantastic cocktail, and presentation is everything. We’ve used Roku Gin, a well-balanced gin featuring six Japanese and eight traditional gin botanicals. The best way to create a beautiful foam head is to add egg whites as an emulsifier. If, like us, you can’t get past the idea of using egg whites or you are vegan, you can use either Eezee Foam, purchased locally through Beverage Chefs, or Aquafaba, which is chickpea brine.
Recipe by Jean Harkett, Managing Director of Storybook – Brand Communication Consultancy.
Ingredients
- 30ml Gin
- 30ml Extra Dry Vermouth
- 30ml Fresh lemon juice
- 22ml Grenadine
- 15ml Eezee Foam (or foaming agent of choice – such as one egg white or 15ml of Aquafaba)
- Lemon twist for garnish
Method
- Add the gin, Grenadine, lemon juice and foaming agent to a cocktail shaker without ice. Dry shake for about 15 seconds. Now add ice to the shaker and shake again for another 20 seconds. Strain the drink into a cocktail glass – if you fine-strain your cocktail, you’ll have an excellent smooth, silky foam presentation. Garnish with a lemon twist.
- Always aim for freshly squeezed lemon juice. It may seem like work to juice lemons for a few cocktails, but it is worth the effort.
