Clover Club

The Clover Club is a cocktail made with gin, fresh lemon juice, raspberry syrup, and egg white.

Its roots trace back to a period before the temperance movement swept across America, giving rise to the infamous Prohibition era.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, men’s clubs were prominent social institutions where like-minded individuals gathered to discuss business, politics, and culture in the exclusivity of a members-only environment.

The Clover Club cocktail is named after the Philadelphia men’s club of the same name, which was founded in 1896 and held its meetings at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel since its opening in 1904.

As said, the Clover Club meetings were held in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, which is situated at the intersection of South Broad and Walnut Streets in the center city, gathered distinguished members including businessmen, bankers, and lawyers, and became a hub for intellectual discourse and camaraderie. As the club’s popularity grew, so did the fame of the cocktail that bore its name, which became a symbol of sophistication, a cocktail that mirrored the refined tastes of the men who frequented the esteemed club.

Like many drinks in our days, the Clover Club disappeared during the 20th century, fading into the recesses of forgotten cocktails. The Prohibition era cast a long shadow over the cocktail landscape, and many classic recipes were lost in the mists of time. However, the resurgence of interest in craft cocktails and the revival of mixology as an art form in the late 20th century played a crucial role in bringing forgotten gems like the Clover Club back into the limelight. Modern cocktail enthusiasts and mixologists began to delve into recipe books, unearthing the secrets of these classic cocktails. Among the influential publications that helped revive the Clover Club was Gary Regan’s 2003 book “The Joy of Mixology: The Consummate Guide to the Bartender’s Craft” which served as a bridge between the past and the present, reintroducing the cocktail to a new generation of enthusiasts.

The Clover Club’s comeback gained further momentum in 2008 when Julie Reiner, a respected figure in the contemporary cocktail scene, opened a cocktail bar in Brooklyn aptly named after the classic drink. Julie Reiner’s dedication to preserving and celebrating the heritage of cocktails, combined with the rising interest in classic cocktails, helped solidify the Clover Club’s place in the pantheon of revived and revered drinks, ensuring that its legacy endures well into the 21st century.

Clover Club Recipe

1. 60 ml gin

2. 22.5 ml fresh lemon juice

3. 22.5 ml raspberry syrup

4. 1 egg white

5. Ice

6. Garnish: 3 raspberries