Million Dollar Cocktail

Ingredients

Cocktail

• 45 mlLondon dry gin
• 22 mlsweet red vermouth
• 30 mlfresh pineapple juice, strained
• 10 mlgrenadine
• 1fresh egg white (about 30 ml)
• 1dash Angostura bitters

To serve

• 1small pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1wedge of pineapple or a pineapple leaf
• cubed ice, for shaking

Directions

1. Chill a coupe or small sour glass in the freezer for at least 10 minutes, or fill it with ice and water while you build the drink.
2. Strain fresh pineapple juice through a fine sieve to remove pulp; pulp weighs the foam down and makes the head collapse.
3. Combine the gin, vermouth, pineapple juice, grenadine, egg white and bitters in the small half of a shaker.
4. Dry shake hard with no ice for 15 seconds to denature the protein and build the foam structure.
5. Add cubed ice to fill the shaker two-thirds and shake very hard for a further 12–15 seconds, until the tin is painfully cold and frosted.
6. Double strain through a Hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh into the chilled glass, pouring from a height so the foam rises into a smooth 1 cm cap.
7. Let it settle for 20 seconds until the head is glossy and firm enough to hold a grating, then dust lightly with nutmeg.
8. Perch the pineapple wedge on the rim and serve immediately, while the foam is still alive.

Technique

• This is a Raffles Hotel Long Bar creation attributed to Ngiam Tong Boon, the same bartender credited with the Singapore Sling; early 1910s recipes vary in whether grenadine or a sweetened cherry syrup was used.
• Egg white does not make the drink taste of egg; it makes the texture. Use the freshest egg you can, and skip the drink altogether for anyone who should avoid raw egg.
• Tinned pineapple juice is sweeter and duller. If you use it, cut the grenadine to 7 ml or the drink becomes cloying.

Substitutions

• Replace the egg white with 20 ml aquafaba (chickpea water) for the same foam without the raw egg.
• No grenadine: reduce 100 ml pomegranate juice with 100 g sugar to a light syrup rather than using bright red commercial cordial.

Variations

• The Pink Gin Sling, a lighter Raffles relative with soda instead of egg white.
• Some Long Bar versions add a bar spoon of apricot brandy alongside the vermouth.

History

Also from Eppinger’s Yokohama bar; it reached international fame after appearing in Japanese and British cocktail books.

Frequently asked questions

What is Million Dollar Cocktail?

Million Dollar Cocktail is a cocktail from Japan: gin, sweet vermouth, pineapple, grenadine and egg white, shaken frothy. Also from Eppinger’s Yokohama bar; it reached international fame after appearing in Japanese and British cocktail books.

How long does Million Dollar Cocktail take to make?

Million Dollar Cocktail takes 5 min of preparation and 2 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 cocktail. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Million Dollar Cocktail?

Yes, within limits. Replace the egg white with 20 ml aquafaba (chickpea water) for the same foam without the raw egg. No grenadine: reduce 100 ml pomegranate juice with 100 g sugar to a light syrup rather than using bright red commercial cordial.