Egg Whites in Cocktails
Cocktails made with raw egg whites aren’t as popular as they once were. At the end of the 19th century, New Orleans’ Ramos Gin Frizz was the craze. If you’ve recently been to upper-end cocktail bars, where they specialize in fine hand-crafted drinks, you’ve noticed a comeback. It seems that raw egg white infused cocktails have found their way back into some spectacularly elegant drinks. Shaken thoroughly and briskly, egg whites give drinks a wonderfully silky and light frothiness. It adds texture and volume to a cocktail. Drinks with whole eggs in them such as the Pisco Sour and the Los Angeles Cocktail have a creamy, rich consistency without the excess of actual cream. The trick to get egg whites right in a cocktail is to give it a good shaking; a full five minutes is recommended. For those worried about the health aspects, the alcohol does kill most of the bacteria that may be present in the raw egg. To take an extra precaution towards salmonella, you can make the same great drink with pasteurized eggs.
Ramos Gin Frizz
Ingredients:
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice 1 oz simple syrup
2-3 drops orange flower water 2 drops vanilla extract (optional)
1 oz cream
1 egg white
soda water
orange slice (optional)
ice