Do not let the colour fool you. Under that soft pink foam sits gin backed by apple brandy, sharpened with lemon and only lightly sweetened with real pomegranate grenadine.
1½ oz
London dry gine.g. Tanqueray · Gordon's · Beefeater · Bombay Sapphire · Sipsmith
½ oz
applejack or apple brandy or Calvadose.g. Laird's
¾ oz
lemon juice freshly squeezed
¼ oz
grenadine ideally homemade from pomegranate
1
egg white from a small, fresh egg
Garnish: Cocktail cherry · Ice: Served up, no ice
Pink Lady
Tart and fruity with apple warmth under the juniper, only lightly sweet. The egg white gives a creamy, velvety texture.
The Pink Lady belongs to the pre-Prohibition family of gin sours with egg white, alongside the Clover Club. Its name is often linked to The Pink Lady, a Broadway musical comedy of 1911, although no direct proof connects the play and the drink. Recipes under this name were already printed in the years that followed, with applejack becoming the signature second spirit.
From the 1930s onward the drink gained a reputation as a sweet ladies' cocktail, and many later versions dropped the applejack and leaned on sugary grenadine. Craft bartenders have since restored the older, drier build, and today the Pink Lady is appreciated again as a firm, fruity sour with plenty of backbone.
Tart, lightly fruity and dry for its colour, with a soft foam. The applejack adds a gentle baked apple note.
Yes, shake it without and you get a sharper, thinner drink. Aquafaba (chickpea water) is a good vegan substitute for the foam.
They are close relatives. The Clover Club uses raspberry, while the Pink Lady is defined by applejack and grenadine.
The perfect sound
Soft, pink and elegantly feminine.
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