CLOVER CLUB

The Clover Club: The Gentleman's Drink That Made a Comeback

The Clover Club was created sometime in the 1880s or 1890s at the Clover Club, a gentlemen's club in Philadelphia that met at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. The club brought together lawyers, writers, and captains of industry who gathered regularly for dinner and drinks. The cocktail became the signature drink of these gatherings.

The drink first appeared in print in the 1901 book "The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them" by William Boothby. It was considered a sophisticated pre-dinner cocktail, popular among the business and professional class despite its pink hue, which would later contribute to its decline.

By the mid-20th century, the Clover Club had largely disappeared from bar menus. The pink color led to it being dismissed as overly feminine during an era when gendered drinking was more rigidly enforced. Cocktail writer Bernard DeVoto famously mocked it in 1948, calling it a drink that turned men into "aunties," which hastened its fall from favor.

The Clover Club experienced a dramatic revival during the craft cocktail renaissance of the 2000s. Bartenders rediscovered the recipe and found it to be a perfectly balanced, elegant cocktail. The drink became a symbol of the era's rejection of gendered cocktail stereotypes, with modern bars proudly serving pink drinks to anyone who wanted them.

What makes the Clover Club work is the interplay of ingredients. The raspberry provides fruity sweetness and tartness, the lemon adds brightness, the dry vermouth contributes herbal complexity, and the egg white creates a silky texture with a beautiful foam crown. The gin ties it all together with botanical notes that complement the raspberry.

RECIPE:

1½ oz gin

½ oz dry vermouth

½ oz fresh lemon juice

½ oz raspberry syrup

1 egg white

Fresh raspberries for garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to shaker without ice

2. Dry shake vigorously for 15 seconds

3. Add ice and shake again until well-chilled

4. Double strain into chilled coupe glass

5. Garnish with fresh raspberries if desired