South Side

60 ml (2 oz) London dry gin
30 ml (1 oz) fresh lemon juice
15 ml (0.5 oz) simple syrup
5–6 mint leaves
A few drops of egg white (optional)

🧃🧃🧃

Notes

The origins are disputed — some credit South Side Chicago gangsters during Prohibition who used mint and citrus to mask the taste of bathtub gin, others trace it to Snedecor's Tavern on Long Island in the 1890s as a fizzy riff on the Mint Julep. It became the house drink of the 21 Club, one of New York's most famous speakeasies, which kept it on the menu for another 90 years after Prohibition ended.