Clover Club Cocktail
“My first Clover Club highlighted the potential for flavour within the structure of a cocktail. We still have our founding steps of 50ml of spirit, 25ml of sour, 25ml of texture and 15ml of sweet. We also have a 15ml float of dry vermouth, a highly aromatized liquid more commonly found with gin in a Martini. Now imagine the flavour profile and experience of a Martini as a 3-D shape, a compressed concertina. Imagine stretching out the Martini concertina. Imagine that each peak and trough is one individual aroma note. The peaks will be the top notes of lemon and orange, coriander seed, juniper, maybe some floral or light herbal notes. The troughs will be the base notes of orris, liquorice, barks and heavier herbal notes. We can move from left to right and start to imagine how our experience of a Martini builds and changes over time. Through examining this structure, we can start to see the space between each fold, taking note of the shapes that are starting to form here. And we can also start to imagine what other aromas would ‘fit’ well in that space. Raspberry suddenly looks like a logical fit with gin and dry vermouth. This is what I call the ‘space’ or ‘gaps’ between aroma. It’s where I like to explore the potential of a cocktail as a vehicle for overall flavour. When I take this point of view, I can understand how this classic cocktail will work, build an expectation of my experience and hopefully be inspired to create something new in the future.” Zoe Burgess, author of The Cocktail Cabinet
50ml (1⅔oz) gin
25ml (⅔oz plus 1 tsp) lemon juice
25ml (⅔oz plus 1 tsp) egg white
15ml (1& 1/2oz) raspberry syrup
15ml (1& 1/2oz) dry vermouth
Total drink volume: 150ml (5oz)
Ideal glass volume: 180–200ml
(6–6⅔oz)
Glass: chilled large coupette
Add the gin, lemon juice, egg white, raspberry syrup and dry vermouth to a cocktail shaker, then seal the shaker and dry shake. Open the shaker and pour the liquid into the smaller half while you fill the larger half with cubed ice. Pour the liquid over the ice. Reseal the shaker and shake. Strain into the chilled glass and serve.
This is an extract from The Cocktail Cabinet by Zoe Burgess
