Why do the dried flowers sink?

The head is too thin to hold them, usually because the ice went in before the dry shake. Shake without ice first, then with ice.

Does a white lady go over ice?

No. It goes into a cocktail or margarita glass, strained with no ice in the glass.

Does the powder follow the same sheet?

Yes. Make up 1.3g of powder with 20 ml of water per drink before service, chill it, and follow the same five steps.

Can I add the aquafaba to the batched gin and triple sec?

No. Add it to each shaker at the shake, one drink at a time.

Process sheet

How to shake an aquafaba white lady: the step-by-step sheet

The garnish tells you everything. If the dried flowers sit neatly on the head, the drink has done its job. If they sink, something earlier in the build went wrong. This sheet gives you one five-step method to follow and the checks to make when the white lady loses the firm finish it needs. Updated: 5 October 2026.

Process sheet

#	Step	Reference
1	Build	40 ml gin, 20 ml triple sec, 20 ml lemon, 20 ml cane sugar syrup, 20 ml VERY AQUAFABA, chilled
2	Dry shake	Hard, without ice: the liquid turns pale and thick
3	With ice	8 to 10 cubes, shake again until the shaker frosts
4	Strain	Into a cocktail or margarita glass, no ice in the glass
5	Garnish	A few dried flowers on the foam

Powder: for one drink, 1.3g of VERY AQUAFABA powder + 20 ml of water, made up before service and chilled.

Checks

What you see	Why	Fix
Flowers sink into the drink	Ice went in before the dry shake	Dry shake first, ice second
Slow, slack foam	Aquafaba at room temperature	Keep it chilled until the shake
No height by mid-service	Aquafaba was added to the batch	Batch the gin, triple sec, lemon and syrup only
Head drops before it reaches the guest	The drink waited on the pass	Shake to order and garnish at once

Source: VERY AQUAFABA cocktail recipes (October 2026)

When the head won't hold the flowers

Keep it with the stemware or in the bar book, next to the white lady method. If the flowers sink, work backwards from the glass: check the head, the second shake, then whether the dry shake happened before the ice went in.

Set the station before the first order

The batch. Gin, triple sec, lemon and syrup in one bottle; the aquafaba kept apart.
The aquafaba. In the fridge, and an opened pack used within 3 to 4 days at 2 to 6 °C.
The glasses. Cocktail or margarita glasses ready, and the dried flowers within reach.
The powder, if you use it. Made up for the night and chilled.

What the glass should tell you

After the dry shake the liquid is pale and thick, almost like a milkshake. After the shake with ice the shaker is frosted on the outside. In the glass the head sits level and firm enough to hold the flowers on top. If one of these signs is missing, the checks table above shows which step to fix. The white lady quantity calculator works out the quantities for a full night.