Video about White Lady cocktail on my YouTube channel.
The White Lady cocktail is classified as one of “The Unforgettables” by the IBA. This elegant and refined drink was created a century ago and still holds a beloved spot among cocktail enthusiasts.
Like many classic cocktails that have outlived their creators, the White Lady’s exact origin is somewhat unclear.
However, the creator of its first version is well known. In 1919, at London’s Ciro’s Club, Scottish bartender Harry MacElhone crafted the original White Lady. He documented the recipe in his 1922 book “Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails”. This version included brandy, crème de menthe, and Cointreau—a far cry from the classic version we know today, sharing only the orange liqueur and the name.
Three famous bartenders are credited with creating the modern version of the White Lady. One of them is Harry MacElhone himself. He claimed that in 1929, after opening his own bar, Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, he revised the recipe to equal parts gin, Triple Sec, and lemon juice. This version is much closer to the White Lady we recognize today.
MacElhone’s claim to the White Lady is contested by the renowned Harry Craddock, who worked at the American Bar in London’s Savoy Hotel during the same era. Legend has it that Craddock created the cocktail in 1920, inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald, the platinum blonde wife of Scott Fitzgerald. Over the past century, the identity of the mysterious “White Lady” who inspired the drink has been attributed to various famous women. Craddock published his version of the White Lady in the “Savoy Cocktail Book” in 1930, which differed from MacElhone’s by doubling the amount of gin.
Harry Craddock was known not only for his bartending skills but also for his eccentricities. He claimed that during the 1927 reconstruction of the American Bar, he buried a shaker filled with White Lady ingredients as part of the building’s foundation. The tradition of burying something during construction for good fortune has existed for thousands of years, often involving a live creature. However, for a bar, a shaker filled with the bartender’s favorite cocktail seems just as appropriate. Interestingly, 1927 is two years before MacElhone’s announcement of his revised cocktail, but there’s no mention of this shaker burial in other records, leading to some doubts.
However, what is documented is that in 1939, when Craddock moved to The Dorchester Hotel, he buried a vial of White Lady along with four other cocktails and their recipes in the bar’s walls. Clearly, Craddock took his legacy seriously. While this event is well-documented, it occurred 12 years after MacElhone’s revised White Lady. So, the question of which Harry truly deserves credit for the modern White Lady remains a mystery that may never be solved.
There is yet a third contender for the title of White Lady creator. In two newspaper articles from 1934 and 1946, Victor Cabrin was credited as the inventor of this cocktail. According to these reports, he crafted it in 1929 at his Victor’s Bar in London’s Grosvenor House. Mr.Cabrin had a particular specialty—dedicating cocktails to ladies of different colors. He is definitely created the Blue Lady and the Black Lady, so the White Lady fits perfectly into this tradition.
Regardless of who the true creator of the White Lady was, they surely crafted an exceptional cocktail.
IBA recipe:
Ingredients:
-1 1/3 oz/ 40 ml Dry Gin
-1 oz/ 30 ml Triple Sec
-2/3 oz/ 20 ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Process:
Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake well with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Drinkware:
Cocktail glass
Traditionally, the White Lady, including the IBA recipe, did not feature egg white. However, since 1936, a variant with egg white has emerged, lending the cocktail a smoother texture and a pristine white appearance.
To craft this creamy iteration, introduce half of an egg white into the mix along with the other ingredients. Shake the concoction initially without ice to nurture a luxurious foam. Then, repeat the vigorous shaking, this time with ice, to achieve the desired consistency.
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