Egg-Centric

We’re on an egg hunt this month, but we’re not looking to fill our basket with hard-boiled, pastel pretties. We want them raw and we want to drink them. Cocktails that call for raw eggs are not new – think Pisco Sour, Ramos Gin Fizz or Clover Club. With bartenders in town showcasing more fizzes (basically a combination of liquor, citrus juice, sugar or simple syrup, and sometimes an egg white shaken, strained and topped with a carbonated beverage) and whipping up concoctions of their own design, eggs – the whites, in particular – are entering into the recipe. This time of year, Robert Griffin, bartender at The Royale in South City, really gets cracking on egg drinks. For Easter, he will offer a slate of egg-only cocktails, such as Morning Glory Fizz. A creation of the late 19th century, the flavors of absinthe and citrus juices dominate the palate in this scotch-based fizz. Patrons who hit The Royale on Sunday evenings for its themed Cocktail Museum will almost always encounter at least one drink from the cocktail canon that calls for an egg product. The comprehensive 150-drink Sanctuaria Cocktail Club menu, designed by bar manager Matt Seiter and lead bartender Joel Clark, includes nine cocktails with egg whites. The classics are present, but so are creations like Missouri Beach Front Property, a beer cocktail that features locally brewed Cathedral Square White Ale; and Sour Sloeberry Fizz, a superb, slightly tart mix of sloe gin, yellow chartreuse, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white and a house-made rhubarb tincture plus a garnish of fresh sage. Another original, Hell’s Fire Fizz, is made with gin, ginger liqueur, papaya juice, heavy cream, house-made raspberry syrup, orange flower water, egg white and a topper of club soda. The fruity sweetness and dairy frothiness make this near-milkshake an optimal liquid dessert for sweet tooths. At the newly opened Water Street in Maplewood, owner Gabe Kveton offers the egg-centric Rye Half Flip (as opposed to a true flip, which uses a whole egg). The drink features rye whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white and a twist of orange. Were it not for a light top coat of froth, tasting notes point the Rye Half Flip in the direction of a whiskey sour. That foamy mouth feel is one reason why bartenders don’t balk at breaking eggs. Egg whites also add body to cocktails, harmonize strong flavors that would otherwise compete in the drink, and give a great frothy head, summed Seiter and Clark. Some imbibers may be reticent to drink these types of cocktails because raw eggs pose the risk of salmonella contamination. “In the year and a half I’ve been serving them, no one has taken ill,” said Griffin about his egg drinks. While salmonella contamination is rare, the risk is further diminished when bars adhere to certain practices. According to an official from the St. Louis City Department of Health, establishments must use pasteurized eggs and the eggs should be stored at no more than 41 degrees to “slow down the potential risk for bacterial growth.”