Eggs have been an integral ingredient in cocktails for at least the last two hundred years. They add a silky frothiness, and body that a cocktail wouldn’t have otherwise. The reason the egg was removed from many cocktails in the last few decades was from some bad publicity. At some point in time it was stated that “eating raw eggs could lead to serious illness from salmonella.”

The FDA states that only 1 in 20,000 eggs has the salmonella bacteria, and nowhere does the National Safety Council’s data state that raw eggs are a common risk. It should be noted, however, that death from choking on food is rated at 1 in 5000 odds! The odds of getting salmonella from an egg are extremely remote and you have a better chance of dying from accidental drowning (1 in 1,000), a storm related accident (1 in 3,000) or slipping (1 in 6,500).

Still scared? Then take a deep breath and check the expiration date on the carton of eggs you got from the market. If you’d use them to make an omelet, then you can use them to make a cocktail. Start with this tasty libation from 1934’s “The Official Mixer’s Manual” by the master mixologist Patrick Gavin Duffy:

The Egg Sour

• 1 1/2 oz brandy
• 1 1/2 oz orange curacao
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 3/4 to 1 oz)
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• 1 egg (medium size is best, if using jumbo size then 1 egg for every two servings is best)

Shake all ingredients hard with ice to fully emulsify the egg. Strain into a chilled Delmonico glass or highball.

It should be noted that eggs in the 19th and early 20th century tended to be much smaller than the size we’re used to today. What we would call small or medium size eggs are the only size that was available before growth hormone injected poultry started producing monster chickens laying jumbo eggs. Consequently, I use one jumbo egg for every two servings of this and many cocktails requiring eggs.

This recipe is also found in “Professor” Jerry Thomas’ groundbreaking 1862 tome “How To Mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion“. The recipe he lists calls for 3 dashes of lemon juice, as opposed to the 1/2 lemon listed above. 19th century cocktail aficionados preferred libations on the sweeter side, but by the 1930s their tastes had changed. Increasing the ratio of lemon juice creates a much more balanced drink. Try it at home!