Pink Lady Gin Cocktail

The Pink Lady Gin Cocktail is not as sweet as summer cocktails, it’s gently tart flavor is a balance of gin, applejack, lemon juice, and grenadine.

The Pink Lady Gin Cocktail is a nice transition cocktail for this time of year. From the heavier drinks we imbibe during the winter months to warm weather drinks that focus on sweet, fruity variations, there is a period when I’m ready for change but not yet ready for cocktails featuring the fruits of the season.

Rumored to have been a favorite among ladies during the 1930’s to 1950’s, it has a reputation of being created during prohibition. It was not unusual for poor liquor, in this case gin, to be mixed with other flavors to mask an unpleasant flavor.

I suggest you not follow suit, use a good gin for this one; my choice was the original Hendrick’s Gin. It has wonderful notes that blend nicely with the other ingredients.

Maybe I am ready for something pretty though. There is something about pink cocktails that I love; they look so festive. Where I live in Colorado at 6200′ it might also be a sign that yes, spring is on it’s way even if it’s still snowing in my neck of the woods. Spring here is bi-polar for sure…70 degrees one day and a blizzard the next!

I first discovered this Pink Lady Gin Cocktail at a local restaurant where it was the monthly feature. It was just weeks before Covid put an end to meeting friends for drinks.

True confession? I had two friends, two VERY careful friends who came over once a month for drinks and a gabfest when there were so many restrictions and our favorite watering holes were closed.

We were careful and we observed all of the required protocols but we needed a girls night every once in a while too…it was our saving grace.

I made this cocktail for our first get together and it was a hit; I’m so glad I asked the bartender for the recipe. Even though it’s well known and I didn’t know I wouldn’t need it, that’s the one I’m using.

All the recipes I’ve seen include an egg white to make the Pink Lady Gin Cocktail frothy. I don’t like to live risky but I’ve always included one but if it’s a concern, either eliminate it or find eggs that have been pasteurized.

I found this article informative too; the chances of anyone getting salmonella are very slim actually and only a few groups should exercise caution; small children, elderly, pregnant, HIV-positive, or on chemotherapy—or facing some other immune-compromising medical situation. Still if you have any reservations, proceed accordingly.

One little bit of housekeeping news too. I’ve included cocktails on this site for something like eight years now, and for several years it was my ‘Friday Cocktails’ section and I did post a cocktail EVERY Friday. I would stay up until midnight to fulfill that obligation too.

Well, I’ve decided two things. First, I’m not making that schedule anymore, and second…who says I can’t publish on any other day?!! So it’s simple, it’s just Cocktails now and I’ve got no hard and fast rules for when I’ll publish drinks. I guess that makes today ‘Saturday Cocktails’ right? I have such lovely readers, no one has complained, but I thought maybe I should clarify anyhow if even one of you were wondering…what is up with that woman, it’s Friday, where is my cocktail! 🙂

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