speakeater.
Bootlegger · early 1900s · Philadelphia

Clover Club.

Drunk in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel by lawyers, journalists, and steel barons in the years before Prohibition. The all-male Clover Club.

Spirit
London Dry gin
Glass
Coupe
ABV
~22%
Prep
4 min
Era
Bootlegger
Quick answer

The Clover Club is a bootlegger cocktail from Philadelphia, early 1900s. Built on london dry gin, served in a coupe, around 22% ABV. Drunk in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel by lawyers, journalists, and steel barons in the years before Prohibition. The all-male Clover Club met monthly at the Bellevue from the 1880s until World War I.

Ingredients

What goes in a Clover Club?

Method

How do you make a Clover Club?

  1. Add all ingredients to a shaker without ice. Dry-shake hard for 15 seconds to froth the egg white.
  2. Add ice. Shake again until very cold.
  3. Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
  4. Garnish with three raspberries.
Pair it with dinner Beet salad with goat cheese or seared duck breast with cherry. The raspberry mirrors the beet or cherry.
Bartender's notes

What should you know before making a Clover Club?

History

Where did the Clover Club come from?

Drunk in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel by lawyers, journalists, and steel barons in the years before Prohibition. The all-male Clover Club met monthly at the Bellevue from the 1880s until World War I. The drink survived because it refused to look like a cocktail; it looks like a dessert. By the 1940s it was forgotten as a 'feminine drink.' Julie Reiner revived it in New York in 2008 at her Brooklyn bar of the same name.

According to named for the Philadelphia men's club of the same name; printed in Albert Stevens Crockett, Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931).

Variations

What cocktails are similar to a Clover Club?

Clover Leaf
Add a sprig of fresh mint, muddled. A 1900s variant that fell out of fashion.
Pink Lady
Replace the raspberry syrup with grenadine and add a half ounce of applejack. A different drink, related grammar.
FAQ

Common questions.

What is in a Clover Club cocktail?

Two ounces of gin, three-quarters of an ounce of fresh lemon juice, half an ounce of raspberry syrup, and one egg white. Dry-shaken then shaken again with ice, double-strained into a coupe.

Is the Clover Club safe with raw egg white?

Yes, when made with pasteurized egg whites or fresh shells from a clean source. The acid in the lemon juice also denatures most surface bacteria.

Why dry-shake before adding ice?

Dry shaking (without ice) emulsifies the egg white into a thick stable foam. Adding ice on the second shake chills the drink without breaking the foam.

What raspberry syrup should I use?

Make your own from fresh or frozen raspberries muddled with simple syrup and strained. Bottled grenadine or commercial raspberry syrup is too sweet and too thin.

Kyle Schulgen Founder, Speakeater
Builder of Speakeater, the cooking app for people tired of asking what's for dinner. Hand-transcribes pre-Prohibition cocktail manuscripts as a hobby, ships them in the app's cellar.
Last updated: 2026-05-02

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