The White Lady cocktail recipe

The White Lady, like many other classic cocktails, owes its popularity to bar industry heavyweight Harry Craddock, who first noted the recipe in cocktail library regular The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) – a veritable bartender’s bible.

Prior to becoming the White Lady we know and love today, this drink began as an interesting mix of crème de menthe, triple sec and lemon. It was created by another famous Harry – bartender Harry MacElhone in 1919. But it wasn’t until he was behind the bar at his Paris joint, Harry’s New York Bar, that the recipe changed dramatically to incorporate the now-famous ingredients of gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice and egg white.

This drink is almost a Sidecar, almost a Bacardi Cocktail, but built for the modern drinker who is looking for something just as dry but with a solid injection of botanicals. With the Darwinist nature of classic cocktails, we like to believe this 1930s classic will continue to stand the test of time, leaving the aforementioned two in its wake.

That being said it is also almost a Margarita and in that drink, it may have some true competition. Because who doesn’t love Margaritas?

We’re a long way from 1919. Many people have various dietary and ethical preferences around food and liquor that can make following traditional recipes tricky. But never fear! There’s always a solution.

For those reading who have any aversions towards the use of eggs in mixed drinks, we would direct you to the use of an ingenious alternative ingredient: aquafaba.

Don’t worry – this isn’t something that’s going to cost you an arm and a leg at your local health food store. Aquafaba is just the leftover water in a can of chickpeas. It is full of proteins that work in the same way egg whites do when whipped in cocktails, supplying little aroma or flavour, but incredible texture. This texture not only looks glamorous, but will allow you to add garnishes to the surface of the cocktail, in lemon wheels, coloured salts or even edible flowers.