Audrey Saunders, Pegu Club, New York City, 2003. Saunders, one of the founders of the 21st-century craft cocktail movement, created the Earl Grey Mar-TEA-ni as an exploration of tea as a cocktail ingredient. The punning name (tea/tini) became one of the most quoted cocktail names in bar history. Pegu Club, which operated from 2005 to 2020, was one of the most influential cocktail bars in American history.
The Earl Grey Martini (also called the Earl Grey Mar-TEA-ni) is Audrey Saunders's contribution to the tea-cocktail canon — gin infused with Earl Grey tea, combined with fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white, creating a drink where bergamot (the citrus oil that gives Earl Grey its distinctive floral-perfumed character) amplifies gin's botanical complexity into something uniquely English-aristocratic-and-bar-progressive simultaneously. Created at Pegu Club in New York City in 2003, it established tea as a serious cocktail ingredient and inspired a generation of bartenders to explore the enormous flavour range of tea as a spirit-infusion base.
FOOD PAIRING: The Earl Grey Martini's bergamot-gin-citrus florality pairs with afternoon tea fare and light British preparations. Provenance 1000 pairings: cucumber finger sandwiches (the quintessential tea bridge), lemon drizzle cake (lemon-bergamot amplification), shortbread with bergamot cream, smoked salmon on rye with crème fraîche, and Earl Grey tea-smoked duck.
{"Earl Grey-infused gin: steep 2 tbsp of quality loose-leaf Earl Grey (Mariage Frères Earl Grey Imperial or Fortnum and Mason's Royal Blend) in 8 oz London Dry gin at room temperature for 2 hours. Strain through fine mesh. The bergamot oils extract rapidly — over-steeping produces a bitter, tannin-heavy result.","Gin selection for infusion: Tanqueray or Beefeater — London Dry gins where the juniper will harmonise with the Earl Grey's bergamot. A heavily botanical gin can create complexity overload with the tea's own botanicals.","Egg white: the foam is part of the drink's visual and textural identity. Dry shake first (15 seconds), wet shake (12 seconds). The foam should be white and stable.","Fresh lemon juice (3/4 oz): the acid that bridges the bergamot's floral-bitter character with the gin's botanicals. The lemon and bergamot are both citrus species — the pairing is logical.","Simple syrup (3/4 oz): sweetness calibration. The Earl Grey infused gin has no additional sweetness, so the syrup provides the necessary balance.","Ratio: 2 oz Earl Grey gin, 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice, 3/4 oz simple syrup, 1 egg white. Shake, strain into a chilled coupe, garnish with a lemon twist."}
Bergamot oil is extremely volatile — cold-fat washing technique (using butter or coconut oil in the gin before the tea infusion) can carry the bergamot's aroma compounds into a cleaner medium. Saunders's original technique at Pegu Club used a room-temperature infusion with specific timing. For a more pronounced bergamot flavour: add 2 drops of food-grade bergamot essential oil directly to the finished drink — this amplifies the oil's aromatic without the tea's tannin.
{"Over-steeping the Earl Grey in gin: beyond 2–3 hours at room temperature, the gin becomes bitter and tannic. Taste regularly and strain when the bergamot is present and the tea's warmth is pleasant, not astringent.","Using a low-quality Earl Grey with artificial bergamot flavouring: cheap Earl Grey tea uses artificial bergamot oil. High-quality Earl Grey uses real bergamot peel oil — the difference is immediate and significant.","Under-shaking with the egg white: the foam must be stable before pouring.","Using a warm glass: the delicate bergamot aromatics are most pleasant cold. Pre-chill the coupe."}