A gin sour with a twist of the teacup: Earl Grey-infused gin brings bergamot perfume and a dry thread of tannin, while lemon and simple syrup frame it in bright, sweet-tart balance. Shaken hard with egg white, it pours silky under a pale foam cap, the egg binding the tea's tannins much as milk does in a proper cup, so the edges soften into something plush beneath a sugared rim and a lemon twist.
Garnish: Sugar Rim, Lemon Peel
Shaken · Martini · Up
build
Half-rim a chilled martini glass with sugar and set aside.
add
Combine Earl Grey-infused gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white in a shaker.
shake
Dry shake without ice for several seconds to emulsify the egg white.
shake
Add ice and shake hard until well-chilled and frothy.
strain
Double strain into the prepared chilled martini glass.
garnish
Garnish with a lemon twist.
Audrey Saunders devised the Earl Grey MarTEAni around 2003 at Pegu Club, her bar in New York, and the credit has stayed with her ever since. It became a quiet statement of intent for the cocktail revival — a tea-infused gin sour served up in a martini glass. Her original spec used a lighter pour of gin, a fuller measure of syrup and a sugar rim, while a modern rework with more gin and less sweetness also circulates today.