Clover Club - How to Make the Pre-Prohibition Gin Drink & the History Behind It

Опубликовано: 28 Октябрь 2024
на канале: Distinguished Spirits

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How to make the Clover Club, a classic cocktail made with Gin, Lemon Juice, Raspberry Syrup and an Egg White, with a Lemon Twist but not for garnish. It’s an exotic gin sour. It has a creamy mouthfeel and full bouquet of complex flavors. It’s in the neighborhood of a White Lady, only with raspberry syrup instead of orange liqueur.

In the 1870’s America entered the Gilded Age. This time was marked by a new class of ultra-wealthy swindlers and con men that became known as the Robber Barons. The era was named after the 1873 Mark Twain book, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.

In this period of gild and graft, a small social club was formed in Philadelphia. In January 1880, a group of 15 people, mostly newspaper men, met for an informal dinner. This turned into a monthly event held of Thursdays and they called themselves the Thursday Club. That lasted for about 2 years before breaking up. However, a few members formed another social club that was soon named the Clover Club.

The club bounced between a couple different locations before adopting a more permanent home in the Hotel Bellevue, where they met for nearly 20 years before moving into the bigger, better, more extravagant, Bellevue-Stratford.

Both Bellevue hotels were owned and operated by George C. Boldt, a hotelier who catered his brand of hospitality almost exclusively to the era’s tycoon-class. This attention to the needs of the ultra-wealthy, landed him the gig of being president of the Waldorf-Astoria, an ultra-luxurious pair of hotels in New York that were different buildings (that were eventually connected via a hallway) built on the same square block, each of which were owned by an Astor. William Waldorf Astor and John Jacob Astor IV, were not on good terms. Boldt became a sort of mediator for their rivalry and in the process helped turn the Waldorf-Astoria into a world-renowned destination.

Boldt was a champion for the Clover Club. They loved him and the feeling was mutual. The Cloverites, as they were known, were not exactly in the same league as the Robber Barons, but they weren’t doing too badly for themselves. They were newspaper men, lawyers, judges, senators, presidents, cartoonists and satirists. Their guests and honorary members included the sitting president, Grover Cleveland and the man who helped name the era, Mark Twain.

The Clover Club dissolved right around World War I. But the drink bearing it’s name was carried on. Exactly when the drink was invented and by whom is not really known, but it showed up in print as early as 1901. Michael J. Killackey, the head bartender at the Waldorf-Astoria, shared the recipe with the New York Press. The recipe was undoubtedly given to Killackey by Boldt.

The drink was originally composed of gin, lemon juice, granulated sugar, raspberry syrup and an egg white. It was made popular by the Waldorf-Astoria and remained popular through Prohibition. It also appeared on the influential menus at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris and at the Savoy in London. It’s popularity waned after Prohibition, but like a lot of vintage drinks, it found a new audience after being explored in David Wondrich’s seminal cocktail book, Imbibe.

The recipe I like the best comes from The 12 Bottle Bar by Lesley and David Solmonson. Their version is slightly simplified from the original. It axes the sugar, but makes up for the missing sweetness by increasing the measurement of raspberry syrup.

I like to hit it with a lemon twist. The lemon oils will help eliminate any of that wet dog smell that some egg whites give off. But unlike most drinks, I toss the lemon peel and don’t garnish the drink with it. The foamy head of this drink is perfect just the way it is. Cheers!

Recipe:
1.5 oz (45 ml) Gin
0.75 oz (22 ml) Lemon Juice
0.25 oz (7 ml) Raspberry Syrup
Egg White
Lemon Twist (discard)

Dry shake (without ice) all ingredients. Add ice, then shake again. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Squeeze a lemon peel over the top of the drink. Discard the peel.

Music:
Good Ol Days 2 by Martin Landh
via Epidemic Sound

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Featured in this Episode:

Ford’s Gin
http://bit.ly/2Arn7eP

Raspberry Syrup
   • How to Make Raspberry Syrup (Booze in...

Imbibe! by David Wondrich
http://amzn.to/2F4QQf9

The 12 Bottle Bar by David & Lesley Solmonson
http://amzn.to/2npmUFT

Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh
http://amzn.to/2F5ne0T

Bar Tools:

Couple Glass (Different Glass)
http://amzn.to/2F4MWGQ

OXO SteeL Double Jigger
http://amzn.to/2FHsGbx

Chef'n FreshForce Citrus Juicer (Lemon)
http://amzn.to/2GS3DBV

Fine Mesh Strainer
http://amzn.to/2F06ITW

OXO SteeL Cocktail Shaker
http://amzn.to/1pJgEF0

Cutting Board
http://amzn.to/1QgQTSW

Small Knife
http://amzn.to/1KDFQoc

Norpro Vegetable Peeler
http://amzn.to/1pgeHzH