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Whey Wig
Infuse fresh mint or sage in buttermilk whey.
This ancient English "wet" can be made to perfection only in the country, with fresh whey and herbs at hand. It looks like an Irish green wig, hence the name.
The Swiss, who know their milk, say any whey drink is good for what ails you. (From Homemade Hilarity, by the Browns.) 2 PARTS GIN 4-LEAF CLOVER CLUB I PART GRENADINE For each glass allow 1/2 egg white, 1 Maraschino cherry and a couple dashes of lemon juice. Shake.
This is used only to celebrate the finding of a 4-leaf clover, which goes into the shaker with the ice to bring everybody luck. If you're really diligent you can find a dozen 4-leaf clovers in 1 afternoon.
Two drinks sit side by side here, and neither carries much in the way of method. Both are simple enough to reconstruct if you know what the old terms mean.
- What whey isWhey is the thin, translucent liquid left when milk curds are drained off. "Buttermilk whey" most likely means the liquid that separates out of cultured buttermilk; strain full-fat cultured buttermilk through cloth for an hour or two and the pale, slightly tart liquid that drips out is roughly what the recipe seems to want.
- "Wet"An old colloquial word for a drink (as in wetting one's whistle). It carries no instruction beyond "something to swallow."
- Infusing the herbsWhey is cold and mildly acidic, so it draws flavour slowly. Bruise a good handful of mint or sage leaves, steep in a quart of whey in the refrigerator for two to four hours, then strain. Heating the whey to speed it up will make it cloudy and cooked-tasting.
- Sage versus mintGarden sage is resinous and can dominate, so a lighter hand with it than with mint is sensible or the drink turns medicinal. Neither herb strictly needs sweetening, though honey suits the sage version.
- The cocktail proportionsTwo parts gin to one part grenadine is very sweet by current taste, and the grenadine can be cut back sharply if you want the lemon juice to show. Grenadine was originally pomegranate syrup, not the red corn-syrup product sold under the name now.
- Half an egg whiteAwkward as written. Use one white for every two drinks, and shake hard with ice for a good twenty seconds to build the foam the drink depends on. If raw egg is a concern, pasteurised whites in a carton whip up much the same.
- The cloverShaking a clover leaf with ice bruises it into the drink and adds nothing but green flecks. Float it on the foam instead, where it can be seen.