The White Lady, a light and frothy gin cocktail, boasts a complex and evolving history that mirrors the inventive spirit of the Prohibition era. Though today’s recipe typically blends London Dry gin, triple sec, lemon juice, and egg white, the drink’s origins differ significantly from its modern incarnation.
The earliest known version of the White Lady was crafted by renowned London bartender Harry McElhone. As recorded in the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, McElhone’s original concoction combined brandy, crème de menthe, and Cointreau. This iteration was first documented in the 1922 edition of his influential guide, Harry’s ABCs of Mixing Cocktails.
The cocktail underwent a dramatic transformation not long after. A second, more enduring version emerged, substituting gin for brandy and replacing the mint-flavored crème de menthe with fresh lemon juice. Triple sec remained a constant. Served shaken and occasionally enhanced with egg white for added texture, this variation gained popularity throughout 1930s England. Its growing fame secured it a place in The Savoy Cocktail Book, compiled by Harry Craddock—a definitive reference for classic cocktails.
As contemporary bartenders revisited vintage recipes, the White Lady underwent further refinements, resulting in the balanced and nuanced drink enjoyed today.
The modern White Lady draws from two foundational cocktail styles: the Daisy and the Sour. A Daisy typically features a base spirit, citrus juice, and a liqueur as a sweetening component—making it the structural ancestor of cocktails like the Margarita and the Sidecar. Meanwhile, the addition of egg white evokes the texture of a classic Gin Sour. While the egg white adds little in flavor, it serves as a foaming agent, imparting a smooth, silky mouthfeel and tempering the sharpness of the gin and lemon.
Whether viewed as a gin-forward Daisy enriched with egg white or a Gin Sour sweetened with triple sec, the White Lady’s layered heritage and refreshing profile have cemented its place as a timeless favorite in the world of cocktails.
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