raspberries — The Cocktails

2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce raspberry syrup * see note
1 large egg white
Fresh raspberries, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker combine the gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, & egg white. Shake vigorously (without ice) for 10 seconds. Add ice and shake until frosty cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a skewer of 3 fresh raspberries. Serve and enjoy.

*Note: To make raspberry syrup combine 3/4 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of raspberries (fresh or frozen) and mash the raspberries up into a pulp. Strain out the seeds before using.

According to "The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book," the Clover Club was first created in the late 1800s at the bar of the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. This popular hangout drew crowds of writers, lawyers, and titans of industry, who would meet and talk over cocktails, and the elegant Clover Club made with gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white was a favorite among them.

The cocktail slowly grew in popularity, eventually becoming a nationwide sensation by the late 1910s and early 1920s. After prohibition though, it basically faded into obscurity, and by the 50s was largely forgotten. This is probably because A) nobody used raspberry syrup anymore and wanted to use grenadine instead, and B) there was another cocktail, the pink lady, that was taking the clover club’s place. A pink lady is essentially a clover club made with a mix of grenadine and applejack instead of the raspberry syrup. It sounds like the applejack adds something interesting to the drink that you would lose if you just used grenadine. According to "Gaz" Regan in "The Joy of Mixology," you have to use real raspberry syrup to make a Clover Club, because "without it, this drink isn't much to talk about."

Thankfully this delicious cocktail is popular again today, thanks largely to its inclusion in Gaz Regan’s 2003 book, “Joy of Mixology,” and the 2008 opening of a now-famous cocktail bar in Brooklyn named after the drink.

1 tablespoon (1/2 oz) white sugar
1/2 oz water
5-6 mint leaves (plus more for garnish)
2 ounces cognac
1/2 ounce rye
Garnish: mint sprig and fresh seasonal berries

Add sugar and water to the bottom of a rocks glass or julep cup and stir to start dissolving. Add 5 to 6 mint leaves and gently press with a muddler to release their oils (don’t over-crush them or they can get bitter).

Fill the glass with finely crushed ice and add cognac & rye. Stir to combine and top with more crushed ice to mound over top. Garnish with a bright green sprig of mint leaves, and if desired, a few fresh raspberries or blackberries. Serve with a straw.

The Prescription Julep was created in 1857, and according to cocktail historian David Wondrich, it’s one of the tastiest mint julep recipes he knows.

Rather than using the traditional bourbon whiskey, this julep recipe calls for a mix of cognac and rye whiskey. Wondrich says this combination is “a marriage made in heaven, the cognac mellowing the rye and the rye adding spice to the cognac.” While the used of Cognac & Rye may seem unusual, back in the Julep’s heyday in the mid 1800s, there were several variations, some even using gin or fortified wines like sherry or madeira.

This recipe came from a tongue-in-cheek medical joke made in 1857 in Harper’s Monthly, in a serial called “A Winter in the South”. In it, one doctor “Quackenboss” writes out a prescription, in Latin medical abbreviations, for this julep recipe. When translated into English, the prescription calls for white sugar, spring water, strong cognac, spirits of rye, mint leaves, and powdered ice.

At the bottom of the prescription, he adds a recommendation for dosage,
“Repeat dose three or four times a day until cold weather.”
“Quackenboss, M.D.”

Wondrich recommends using good, old cognac, since it’s the main base spirit, but says there’s no reason to splurge on the rye which is really just there to spice up the cognac. The original recipe doesn’t call for it, but he also recommends topping the prescription julep with some aged Jamaican rum and garnishing with a few fresh raspberries or blackberries.