The White Lady made its appearance in London in 1922. The first recipe, published by Harry McElhone in his book ABC of Mixing Cocktails, was based on: brandy, creme de menthe and Cointreau. In 1930, a new recipe for the White Lady was published by Harry Craddock of the Savoy Hotel in London. Cointreau was still the centre of the recipe, but this time it was combined with gin and lemon juice. The fame of the hotel at this period certainly contributed to the fact that this second recipe established itself at international level.

At this time, the names of cocktails were often linked to current news stories, so it is not unusual to find cocktails with the same name but with different ingredients. The name White Lady may have been inspired by the network of women spies with the same name that was active in the resistance during the First World War.

INGREDIENTS:

30ml Cointreau

30ml Hayman's London Dry Gin

30ml Fresh Lemon Juice

METHOD:

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

GARNISH:

Garnish with a twist of lime peel.