White Lady with a dried lemon wheel.
The White Lady is the cocktail equivalent of a tailored white shirt. Gin, triple sec, lemon, egg white. Nothing loud, nothing wasted, and it looks like it cost more than it did. A drink for people who order the same thing every time and are right to.
The dried lemon does the one thing a fresh slice can't: it sits clean on the foam without weeping juice into a drink that's already perfectly balanced.
What you'll need
- 45ml London dry gin
- 20ml triple sec (Cointreau)
- 20ml fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg white (or 15ml aquafaba)
- 1 dried lemon wheel
- Ice, to shake
How to make it
- Add the gin, triple sec, lemon juice, and egg white to a shaker, no ice yet.
- Dry shake hard for 10 seconds. This is what builds the foam, so commit to it.
- Add a scoop of ice and shake again for 10 seconds to chill and dilute.
- Double strain into a chilled coupe. You want a clean, pale, glossy surface.
- Rest a dried lemon wheel on the foam. It'll sit there like it was placed under glass.
Why dried beats fresh here
A fresh lemon slice is too heavy for this drink. Drop one on the foam and it breaks the surface, sinks halfway, and starts bleeding juice into a sour that was already at the right acidity. The whole point of a White Lady is restraint, and fresh fruit undoes it.
A dried wheel weighs almost nothing, so it floats on the foam without disturbing it. It holds its shape to the last sip and gives you a clean citrus note as you drink rather than a wet wedge in the way.
Use the Lemon jar, about 25 wheels, enough to garnish a long run of sours without touching a knife.