White Lady

Taste

An ounce and a half of gin, three-quarters each of orange liqueur and lemon, a barspoon of simple, and egg white. The white is foam and a silk coat over lemon pith and candied peel. The barspoon of simple is a thin sweetness against equal orange and lemon. Shaken, coupe.

History

Two drinks share the name. Harry MacElhone prints a White Lady in 1922 in Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails as brandy, creme de menthe, and Cointreau. The gin, lemon, and Cointreau version prints in Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book at half gin and a quarter each of Cointreau and lemon, with no egg. MacElhone later claimed a 1929 gin revision at Harry's New York Bar in Paris; Victor Cabrin at London's Grosvenor House also claimed 1929. Egg white is later, New York in the late 1930s. This menu is gin, orange liqueur, lemon, a barspoon of simple, and egg white.

• The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, White Lady
• Difford's Guide, White Lady
• The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), White Lady Cocktail

Same shape, other bottles

The Daisy family, with the bottle that changed.

• Fine and Dandywith Angostura
• Little Honeybourbon and elderflower liqueur for gin and orange liqueur
• Katinkavodka and lime juice for gin and lemon juice
• Sidecarcognac for gin
• Hat Tipelderflower liqueur for orange liqueur
• King's Jubileelight rum and maraschino liqueur for gin and orange liqueur