Union Club
A sweet and fruity whiskey cocktail ∙ Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 20.1% ABV ∙
The Union Club is a bourbon sour of triple sec, lime juice, orgeat, grenadine and egg white, shaken twice and served up in a coupe.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Bourbon 60 mlTriple sec 10 mlLime juice 15 mlOrgeat (almond) syrup 5 mlGrenadine syrup 5 mlEgg white 15 ml
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake (without ice)
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express an orange twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- The orgeat and grenadine are only 5 ml each, and both are strong sweeteners; pour heavy and they quickly bury the lime.
History
The Union Club is usually traced to David A. Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, published in 1948, which is said to list a whiskey sour-style formula of orange curaçao, lime juice, rye whiskey, orgeat, grenadine, and egg white shaken with cracked ice. Embury's book, one of the influential mixing guides of its era, calls for rye specifically, and modern versions of the drink often substitute bourbon while keeping the same supporting ingredients. This Union Club recipe uses triple sec in place of the orange curaçao.
No documented account ties the name to a specific club, event, or earlier source, and the drink is distinct from a same-named Campari-and-maraschino cocktail created decades later by a Seattle bartender.
