White Lady Cocktail

• March 23, 2023
• Cocktails

Tart citrus blends with sweet orange and refreshing gin in this snappy warm-weather classic.

By Erin Henderson

You know I live in a northern climate when the teensiest tease of spring has me rushing to swap out warming, whisky-based drinks for airier, clear-spirt based cocktails – preferably with citrus.

Frozen dollops of snow may be stubbornly hanging around the corners of lawns, but I see those crocuses determinedly spiking through the winter-hardened soil. After four long, grey months of cold, I am ready to toast spring’s arrival, even if bah-humbugs snidely retort winter is not done yet.

That may be so, but every snowbank has a silver lining, and this one is that to the is citrus season is still here. Meaning there’s no time like the present to dust off the lemon squeezer for some delicious cocktails, hopefully enjoyed on the back deck, in the crisp air and bright sun, against the tap-tap-tapping sound of the spring thaw.

The White Lady has been around since 1929 – and in my house since 2019. A beguiling blend of gin, lemon, and triple sec, the OG recipe also required egg white. But I deplore egg white in my drinks – I think the airy froth it creates smells like wet dog – so I ignore it. However, if you’re into that kind of thing, add in an egg white to the mix without ice, “dry shake” to mix it all, and then add ice and shake to chill.