White Lady

2 oz Gin
1⁄2 oz Triple sec, Cointreau
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
1 Egg white (optional)
Instructions

Dry shake, add ice, shake, strain, straight up, cocktail glass.

History

Harry MacElhone invented this around 1919 at Ciro's in London, but it was a vastly different drink: Cointreau, brandy and Creme de Menthe. Somewhere before 1930, it changes - "Harry's ABC's of Mixing Cocktails" follows the original, but the Savoy Cocktail Book has it as 1/2 dry gin, 1/4 Cointreau and 1/4 lemon, where 1 part was 2 oz.

Cocktail summary
Created by
Harry MacElhone or Harry Craddock
Year
1929
Is an
altered recipe
Reference

http://www.esquire.com/drinks/white-lady-drink-recipe

Curator
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Average
3.5 stars
(21 ratings)
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From other users
  • Carol would like w/out egg (plus simple syrup) 2 oz. gin (preferably Fords) ¾ oz. fresh lemon juice ½ oz. orange liqueur (preferably Cointreau) ¼ oz. simple syrup (1:1)
  • My ratios 2/.5/.5 Adjusted for my glasses: 3/.75/1 Orange really pops w/ dry curacao. Don't need a lot. Cointrue would keep it white. .
  • Sadder version of RGF — ★★★★
  • Needs like 1/4 ounce of simple syrup — ★★★★
  • I don't think the egg white is optional. Made as described and found it surprisingly astringent and dry, but pleasant. I'll plan to try to the Savoy recipe which looks likely to be sweeter.
  • I use a different ratio with much less Gin: 4/3/2 cl
  • Did 1.5/.75/.75, with aquafaba. Pretty good, but not more than the sum of its parts.
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Comments

I cleaned up this drink, merging the DeGroff, Esquire, and Distinguished Spirits versions into one. This follows the Esquire version, though I've tagged the egg white as optional. Thanks,  Zachary

sgls commented on 5/09/2021:

For reference, De Groff has 1.5/1/0.75, which is his usual ratio for sours.