The boy and his poison: The Clover Club

Named after the early 20th century Philadelphia mens club, the first time I tried the Clover Club was at the tail end of a late night session at Milk and Honey. I had a craving for the unusual so asked the bartender for a recommendation. His advice was that as long as I could eat egg whites and didn't mind checking my masculinity into the cloakroom for a few hours I was in for a treat of a drink.

On first glance you could appreciate his warning. With its unashamedly bright pink raspberry base and foamy white head, you can understand why Esquire's 1949 'Handbook for Hosts' (I do love a book with "pans make the man efficient" as a chapter title) slipped the drink into its 'Something for the Girls' section (hey, it was the 40s). Don't let the sexism put you off, one sip and you'll be hooked on the depth of its flavour and silky smooth consistency not to mention the fun of challenging your guests to lose their raw-egg cocktail virginity.

You'll need:

• 2oz gin
• 1 oz Lemon juice
• 1/2 oz either raspberry syrup, grenadine or red currant syrup... think red and sugary and you can't go wrong.
• 1 egg white

Shake it:

• separate your egg white from the yolk leaving the white in your shaker
• pour the gin, lemon juice and raspberry syrup over the egg white and stir it for 10-15 seconds
• add some ice to the shaker and give it a good shake
• pour slowly into a cocktail or coupe glass and smile at that lovely frothy top.