Why put a raw egg into a drink? Is it so you can sip a meal, get that infusion of protein? Kind of, but not really. What an egg does is make a cocktail more substantial, but at the same time frothier, more festive.
Unlike adding cream, though, an egg doesn’t necessarily turn a drink into a dessert-like concoction. Here are some egg-cellent standards for your home mixing repertoire to share with others — and remember to use only pasteurized eggs to avoid salmonella.
Pisco Sour
Just try spending a few days in Lima without someone offering you a pisco sour, the honorary cocktail of Peru, where it originated. Served in an Old Fashioned glass, the citrusy drink is made from pisco, lemon juice, simple syrup and one egg white, shaken with ice cubes, strained, and finished with aromatic bitters.
What results is a pale green refresher with the egg white forming a thick layer of foam. Visitors to Santiago will encounter a lighter, stripped-down version, without the egg and bitters, and lime instead of lemon.
Egg Nog
No one hasn’t heard of egg nog, yet it’s a highly specific beverage, associated almost exclusively with Christmas gatherings—sweet, heavy and caloric. It’s made from milk, cream, sugar, whipped egg whites, plus the yolks. That’s the rich base.
More popular in the U.S. than in the U.K. where it originated, egg nog works with a range of alcohols, from brandy to rum to bourbon—if you can taste it through all that egg creaminess—and is typically sprinkled with nutmeg or cinnamon. A variant of egg nog is the somewhat messy Tom and Jerry, which is served hot, in a mug or bowl.
Prairie Oyster
Moviegoers of the early Seventies were introduced to this curious cure through the film Cabaret, when Liza Minnelli explained to Michael York that they "work instantly, even on the most sinister hangovers,” and proceeded to mix one up in a toothpaste glass.
Made from a raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and black pepper, the Prairie Oyster, meant to be swallowed in a single gulp, is certainly a wakeup call. The highly cinematic oddity also made appearances in Pillow Talk, Back to the Future Part III and Addams Family Values.
Golden Fizz
Legendary barkeep and author Dale DeGroff (he won a James Beard Foundation award and a slew of other honors) created this version of the sour, which is composed from gin, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, seltzer and a one-ounce beaten egg. If you find this light and foamy cocktail too sweet, just cut back on the syrup.
Classic Whiskey Sour
A standard before-dinner drink, the whiskey sour—instantly recognizable by its maraschino cherries if properly garnished—is concocted from bourbon, fresh lemon juice, sugar (or syrup) and egg whites. Easy to make and served in an Old Fashioned glass, it can be shaken and strained, or prepared on the rocks.
Because it’s 150 years old, this cocktail has inspired several spin-offs: Some purists argue that it’s the addition of egg whites that makes it a Boston Sour, while the introduction of dry red wine renders the cocktail a New York Sour.
Whether you're making something rich for wintertime or light and foamy for the tropics, you should be sure to add these egg-based cocktails as a part of your home bartending repertoire. Cheers!
