There has been one ingredient that has almost been forgotten as a cocktail ingredient: egg whites. Yes… in raw form. I was re-introduced to the egg white as a cocktail ingredient in Peru.

Pisco sours are the national drink there and every single one of them, if made correctly, is shaken together with a raw egg white.

Needless to say that I drank more than a few of them while I was there and have been experimenting with egg white cocktails for the last few weeks. I thought it would be fun to write a post on how to use egg whites and give you guys a few recipes to try out if you are feeling ambitious!

Three Egg White Cocktails

3.50 from 4 votes
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 1 cocktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
This is a walk through on how to use egg whites to make cocktails that use egg whites and three delicious cocktail recipes to try!

Equipment

Ingredients 

The Clover Club:

  • 3 ounces gin
  • 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ ounce Grenadine or cherry syrup
  • Egg white

The Pisco Sour:

  • 3 ounces pisco
  • 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1-2 teaspoons superfine sugar
  • Egg white
  • Cinnamon Garnish

The Bourbon Flip:

  • 3 ounces bourbon
  • 1 ounce heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
  • Nutmeg garnish
  • Egg white

Helpful Equipment:

    Instructions

    • For any of the cocktails, add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with lots of ice.
    • Shake vigorously for 20 seconds.
    • Strain into chilled glass, garnish, and serve.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Cocktail | Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 433IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.1mg
    Course: Drinks

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    Tag @crunchtimekitchen

    Egg White Cocktails

    Egg White Safety

    There is a ton of information about eating raw egg whites out there. It’s commonly known that eggs can contain Salmonella so eating them raw could pose a risk, especially for the young, old, or people with weakened immune systems.

    My take on the situation is that there are lots of ways you can get food sickness and the likelihood of getting sick from eggs is very small. Of course, the FDA will tell you to never eat them and play it safe, but the truth is that your risk is very low.

    Most estimates say that in the United States roughly 1 in 20,000 eggs contains some trace of Salmonella. That means that for most consumers you might encounter a bad egg every 84 years.

    Some tips to really reduce chances of any sort of sickness include:

    • Buy the freshest, best eggs you can find. Fresh eggs are less likely to contain enough bacteria to cause a problem. Buying local eggs tends to mean fresher eggs, but there is no study that I could find that says local or farm raised eggs have a lower chance of infection. I buy them though anyway.
    • Keep the eggs cold which inhibits bacteria growth.
    • Don’t use any eggs that are cracked or leaking.
    Now, all of that said, you still take a small risk every time you eat an undercooked egg. If you feel uncomfortable with it, then by all means avoid it or use pasteurized eggs which are almost certainly safe.

    The Cocktail Method

    It might seem weird to think of egg whites in a drink, but the thing that makes egg whites the perfect drink ingredient is what happens to them when you beat them like crazy.

    After just a minute of vigorous beating…

    whisk whisk - Egg White Cocktails
    Just a quick demo.

    You’ll end up with a very light and fluffy meringue. This has a ton of applications in the cooking world, but in a cocktail it makes the drink really light, fluffy, and wonderful.

    It’s similar to what steamed milk does to coffee.

    meringue - Egg White Cocktails
    Nice and fluffy.

    The key when you’re adding the egg white to any of the below cocktails is to separate it from the yolk (you can just strain it through your fingers carefully).

    Then add it to a cocktail shaker with the other ingredients and a lot of ice. Then shake it like crazy for at least twenty seconds. Really go to town on it.

    Then you just strain it into your glass of choice.

    shake - Egg White Cocktails
    Shake like crazy.

    Now let’s make some egg white cocktails!

    The Clover Club

    I picked three cocktails that use different spirits, but in general gin is the most popular spirit to use with egg whites. This is a twist on a classic gin fizz that is a bit sweeter due to a small amount of cherry syrup (or grenadine).

    gin - Egg White Cocktails
    Basics.

    Shake it all together and strain it into a chilled martini glass.

    Ask your local bartender for this and they most likely won’t be able to make it for you!

    clover - Egg White Cocktails

    The Pisco Sour

    Again, this is the cocktail that got me thinking again about egg whites in cocktails. It’s THE classic Peru cocktail and there are a million variations on it.

    This is the most basic variation though.

    pisco - Egg White Cocktails
    Pisco jam.

    A small dash of cinnamon on top of the drink really brings out the flavors.

    It’s simple, but packs a punch.

    pisco sour - Egg White Cocktails

    The Bourbon Flip

    This was honestly my favorite of the three cocktails that I tried.

    It was almost like egg nog which makes it perfect for the upcoming holidays!

    bourbon for Egg White Cocktails
    Interesting.

    Again, just shake everything together like crazy and strain it into a chilled glass.

    Sprinkle with some freshly grated nutmeg and it’s basically dessert in a glass.

    flip - Egg White Cocktails

    Of course, you try all of these egg white cocktails at your own risk, but you better believe I’ll be trying them frequently.

    Have any of you tried egg whites in drinks or is it too much for you? Leave a comment!