cocktail
The White Lady
recipe by
GEOFFREY HUNT // THREE75 BAR + KITCHEN
The White Lady cocktail is an absolute classic. Dating back to Harry McElhone in 1919 (in its first iteration), but it only really became what it is now in 1923 when McElhone opened his eponymous bar (Harry’s New York Bar) in Paris.
Here we’ve tweaked the recipe a bit, aiming to isolate all the greatest parts of the classic from their drawbacks. Typically, a combination of gin, citrus liqueur, lemon juice and egg white, I find that egg white gives a wonderfully silky texture but also imparts an ‘eggy’ note I’m not a fan of. So instead I’ve removed the egg white entirely and replaced both it and the citrus liqueur with milk punch.
With the recent fires across our country we’ve put a real focus on buying produce from the impacted areas, so in this recipe I’m using KI Spirits ‘O’ Gin and Kangaroo Island honey which both work beautifully in the punch.
Ingredients
- 60ml KI Spirits ‘O’ Gin
- 15ml Milk Punch*
- 15ml lemon juice
- 5ml Kangaroo Island honey
- 75ml Grapefruit juice
- 50ml Lemon juice
- 100ml Sugar syrup
- 75ml Elderflower cordial
Method
- Chill a tumbler with ice.
- Prepare orange twist by peeling a strip of orange rind – remove as much of the pith as possible.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice.
- Measure and pour all ingredients over the ice.
- Stir gently for at least 30 seconds to allow all the spirits to integrate.
- Empty the ice that was in the tumbler out and half fill the glass with fresh ice.
- Strain the cocktail over the ice.
- Rim the edge of the glass with the orange rind, then twist the rind over the cocktail and drop it into the glass.
Milk Punch*
This is a method of clarifying milk using acid (in this case lemon and orange) which will discard of some of the more powerfully flavoured proteins while still leaving the lovely silky mouth feel that milk offers. The result is a crystal clear, tasty punch that is also preserved, so you can make a big batch that will last for months. This may sound a bit fancy but it’s actually a very simple process that has been around for centuries, first recorded in 1711.
Ingredients
- 3 parts strong Black Tea
- 3 parts orange juice
- 3 parts lemon juice
- 1 part KI Spirits ‘O’ Gin
- 1 part Kangaroo Island honey
- 1 part cold, full-cream milk
Method
Combine all elements except for the milk, ensure they’re mixed well. Slowly pour the punch into the milk, stir thoroughly. Allow mixture to rest and curdle for at least 2 hours in the fridge. Strain the mixture through a coffee filter and refrigerate. This will keep for several months in the fridge.
