White Lady
A sour and balanced gin cocktail ∙ Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 17.7% ABV ∙
The White Lady is a gin sour of London dry gin, triple sec, lemon juice and egg white, shaken twice for a foam and served up in a coupe.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: London dry gin 50 mlTriple sec 20 mlLemon juice 20 mlSugar syrup 5 mlEgg white 15 ml
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake (without ice)
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- With just 5 ml of sugar syrup against 20 ml of lemon, measure it exactly; any less and the drink turns sharply sour.
History
Harry MacElhone is generally credited with devising the White Lady in 1919 at Ciro's Club in London, in a version made with crème de menthe, triple sec, and lemon juice rather than gin. He is said to have reworked the recipe at his own Harry's New York Bar in Paris in 1929, replacing the crème de menthe with gin to create the drink recognized today. The change aligned it with the sidecar family of drinks, with gin in place of brandy.
This origin is disputed: London's Savoy Hotel credits its own bartender, Harry Craddock, with creating the now-dominant gin-based version at the hotel's American Bar. Craddock published a White Lady recipe in his 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book with twice the gin of MacElhone's gin version: half the drink rather than a third. Some accounts also credit another London bartender, Victor Cabrin. Early recipes by both MacElhone and Craddock did not include egg white; that addition became standard afterward, and the White Lady – IBA specification still leaves it out.
FAQ
What is in a White Lady?
50 ml London dry gin, 20 ml triple sec, 20 ml lemon juice, 5 ml sugar syrup and 15 ml egg white.
What kind of gin is best for a White Lady?
London dry gin, which is what this recipe calls for. Its dry, juniper-led flavor holds its own against the lemon juice instead of getting lost under it.
