The Clover Club: A Complete History & Classic Recipe

Soft pink, silky, and seductively balanced, the Clover Club is a pre-Prohibition treasure — a cocktail that predates both the Martini craze and the jazz age, yet still feels fresh today. With gin, lemon, raspberry, and egg white, it’s a masterclass in elegance and restraint — equal parts dessert, aperitif, and nostalgia.

Often mistaken for a “ladies’ drink” in the mid-20th century, the Clover Club has since reclaimed its place as one of America’s most refined classic cocktails — smooth, tart, and beautifully foamy, with a history that stretches from Philadelphia boardrooms to Brooklyn craft bars.

I. Origins

The Clover Club was born in the 1890s at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia — a grand establishment that hosted a gathering of journalists, lawyers, and businessmen known as the Clover Club.

The group met regularly to dine, debate, and drink. Their namesake cocktail — reportedly first mixed for them by a house bartender — reflected their taste for sophistication: a gin sour enriched with raspberry syrup and topped with a foamy egg-white crown.

By the early 1900s, the drink had spread beyond the club’s mahogany halls. It appeared in recipe books like George Kappeler’s 1896 Modern American Drinks and later in Harry Craddock’s 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, cementing its place in the classic canon.

It was one of the first cocktails to embrace both fruit and froth, a precursor to the delicate, balanced cocktails that would dominate the early 20th century.

II. Historical Evolution

The Gilded Age – A Gentleman’s Club Drink

The Clover Club began as a symbol of exclusivity — a refined pre-dinner drink for well-dressed men in high-ceilinged rooms filled with cigar smoke and conversation. The cocktail’s pink hue might surprise modern drinkers, but in the early 1900s, color and creativity were seen as marks of innovation, not femininity.

Prohibition – The Fade to Obscurity

When Prohibition hit (1920–1933), gin production went underground, and cocktails like the Clover Club lost their polish. Bootleg spirits and crude mixers couldn’t replicate its elegance.

Mid-20th Century – Misunderstood and Maligned

By the 1950s, the drink had been unfairly dismissed as “too pink” and “too pretty” for modern tastes. It lingered only in a few old manuals and fading hotel bars.

21st Century – The Revival

The craft cocktail renaissance restored the Clover Club to glory. In 2008, New York bartender Julie Reiner opened a Brooklyn cocktail bar named Clover Club in honor of the forgotten classic, reintroducing it to a new generation.

Today, it’s celebrated not as quaint but as quintessential — a perfectly balanced gin sour with vintage charm and contemporary sophistication.

III. Ingredients & Technique

The Clover Club is deceptively simple — but its perfection depends on freshness, texture, and timing.

Core Components

• Gin: London Dry for structure, or Old Tom for softness.

• Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed for brightness.

• Raspberry Syrup: The soul of the drink — sweet, tangy, and aromatic.

• Egg White: Provides the iconic silky foam.

The Classic Ratio

• 2 oz (60 ml) gin

• 0.75 oz (22 ml) lemon juice

• 0.5 oz (15 ml) raspberry syrup

• 1 egg white

IV. Cultural Significance

The Clover Club embodies American cocktail craftsmanship at its most refined — a bridge between Victorian restraint and the flair of the Roaring Twenties.

It’s also a testament to how perceptions of taste evolve. Once deemed a “man’s drink,” then relegated to “ladies’ menus,” it has transcended both labels to become what it always was: a balanced, sophisticated classic.

Culturally, it symbolizes the rebirth of pre-Prohibition elegance — the rediscovery of quality ingredients, careful technique, and presentation that celebrates beauty as much as strength.

Its comeback is also a victory for bartenders and historians alike, proving that good taste never truly disappears — it just waits for a new audience.

V. How to Make the Classic Version Today

Recipe — The Classic Clover Club

Ingredients

• 2 oz (60 ml) gin

• 0.75 oz (22 ml) fresh lemon juice

• 0.5 oz (15 ml) raspberry syrup

• 1 egg white

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a shaker (no ice).

2. Dry shake vigorously for 10 seconds to emulsify the egg white.

3. Add ice and shake again until chilled.

4. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass.

5. Garnish with three fresh raspberries or a thin lemon twist.

Specs

• Glass: Coupe

• Ice: Shaken, served up

• Garnish: Three raspberries or lemon twist

• Style: Egg-white gin sour

Technique Notes

• Dry shaking is essential for foam — some bartenders reverse the order (wet shake first, then dry shake) for extra volume.

• Use fresh raspberry syrup — its aroma defines the drink.

• Avoid over-acidifying; balance the lemon with the syrup’s sweetness.

Variations & Lineage

• Clover Leaf: Classic variation with a mint leaf shaken in for freshness.

• Strawberry Club: Swap raspberry syrup for strawberry purée.

• Gin Fizz Rosé: Add soda water for a sparkling twist.

• White Clover Club: Omit fruit syrup and add dry vermouth for a drier style.

Service & Pairing Tip

• Perfect for brunches, afternoon cocktails, or pre-dinner aperitifs.

• Pairs beautifully with light seafood, berries, or creamy cheeses.

VI. Modern Variations & Legacy

Today, the Clover Club represents the rebirth of American elegance.

Its revival mirrors that of the entire craft cocktail movement — a rediscovery of precision, history, and balance. It has inspired dozens of riffs and remains a staple of serious bars worldwide.

Beyond flavor, its enduring appeal lies in its tactile experience: the shake, the silk, the aroma, and the first sip through that pale pink foam. It’s not a drink you gulp — it’s one you savor.

The Clover Club endures because it reminds us that refinement never goes out of style — and that sometimes, true strength wears pink.