Egg White
The clear part of an egg, used in cocktails for texture rather than flavour. Its proteins unfold under shaking and trap air, building a dense white foam that softens acidity, rounds sharp edges and holds citrus oils at the surface where they can be smelled.
Quick Facts
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Virtually flavourless. Contributes a creamy mouthfeel and stable foam that carries aromatic oils from expressed citrus peels.
Recommended Brands
Budget Choice
Pasteurised liquid egg white: consistent, safe and nothing wasted, which matters at one sour a week
Premium Choice
Free-range fresh whites: more protein and a denser foam, at the cost of a spare yolk
Storage & Handling
Store fresh eggs refrigerated and use within best-before dates. Liquid egg whites should be kept chilled and sealed, and used within manufacturer guidelines once opened.
Shelf Life
Fresh eggs: Use by best-before date. Liquid egg white: 3–5 days once opened (refrigerated)
Usage
One white to a drink is the standard measure, or 15ml to 20ml from a carton. Reserve it for sours with citrus and sugar to work against; a spirit-forward stirred drink gains nothing but a lid of foam.
Protein, Not Flavour
An egg white is roughly nine tenths water and one tenth protein, and ovalbumin accounts for more than half of that protein. Shaking unfolds those protein chains, which then link around the air bubbles the shaker has forced in and hold them there. The result is mechanical rather than culinary: a foam two or three centimetres deep, a heavier mouthfeel, and a top layer that keeps expressed citrus oil where the nose can reach it. Flavour contribution is close to nothing, though the same proteins bind aromatic compounds and take a little sharpness off a drink.
The Dry Shake
Ice is the enemy of foam while it is forming. Shaking with ice chills the white before the proteins have unfolded, and cold protein unfolds slowly, so the foam comes out thin. The dry shake solves it in two stages: shake everything without ice until the mixture thickens and pales, then add ice and shake again to chill and dilute. The reverse dry shake inverts the order, straining the chilled drink back into a dry tin for a second shake, which builds a tighter foam at the cost of an extra step and a second strain.
Raw Egg and the Lion Mark
Raw egg carries a salmonella risk, and the honest position is that the risk is small and not zero. In the UK the Food Standards Agency revised its advice in 2017: eggs produced under the British Lion Code of Practice, stamped with the lion on the shell, are considered safe for vulnerable groups to eat raw or lightly cooked, because the hens are vaccinated against salmonella. Pasteurised whites from a carton remove the question, pour to a measure and keep for days once opened, which is why they are common behind a bar.
Aquafaba and the Alternatives
Aquafaba, the liquid from a tin of chickpeas, foams for different reasons: saponins lower the surface tension while dissolved starch and protein hold the bubbles. It works, with roughly 30ml standing in for one white, and it carries a faint savoury note that citrus covers and a stirred drink would not. Whichever is used, cleanliness decides the outcome. Fat kills foam, so a trace of cream or oil left in a shaker will flatten a drink that should have stood up, and a tin washed in hot water beats one wiped out.
Pro Tip
If the foam collapses, the shake was too gentle, or the egg wasn’t fresh.
Top Tips
- Shake without ice first, then with it. Cold protein will not unfold, and the foam stays thin.
- Wipe the tin dry before you start. Any fat left behind, from a cream drink or a greasy hand, collapses the foam.
- Express the citrus peel over the foam rather than into the drink, so the oil sits where the nose reaches it.
Possible Substitutions
Production Method
Separated from whole eggs during processing or cracked fresh at point of use. Commercial liquid egg whites are pasteurised to ensure safety.
History & Context
Egg white has been used in cocktails since at least the late 19th century, particularly in sours and fizzes. Its role is structural rather than flavour-driven, helping balance acidity and elevate presentation.
Common Questions
Is raw egg white in cocktails safe?
The risk is small rather than absent. British Lion eggs come from vaccinated hens and the Food Standards Agency considers them safe for vulnerable groups to eat raw. Pasteurised carton whites remove the doubt altogether and measure more consistently than a shell egg.
What is a dry shake?
Shaking the drink without ice before shaking it with ice. The first shake unfolds the proteins and builds the foam at a temperature they will actually unfold at; the second chills and dilutes. Skipping it gives a thin collar instead of a dense head.
Does aquafaba really substitute?
Yes, with a caveat. Roughly 30ml of chickpea liquid foams about as well as one white, through saponins rather than protein. It leaves a faint savoury note that citrus hides comfortably and a spirit-forward drink does not, so keep it to sours.
Does egg white taste eggy?
Not on its own. A fresh white is close to flavourless, and what people read as eggy is usually sulphur from an older egg or a shell fragment that has been shaken in. Use eggs within date and crack them into a separate glass first.