Whiskey Sour
Whiskey, lemon and sugar, shaken, often with egg white for a soft foam. The simplest balance of strong, sour and sweet.
- MethodShaken
- GlassRocks (old fashioned) glass
- IceCubes
- Strengthabout 15.7% ABV
- BaseWhiskey
- Tastesour, sweet, strong
Recipe
| 60 ml 2 oz | Bourbon or Rye whiskey |
| 30 ml 1 oz | Fresh lemon juice |
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | Simple syrup (1:1) |
| 1 egg white | Egg white (or 25 ml aquafaba) (optional) |
| 1 dash | Aromatic bitters (Angostura-style) (optional) |
Garnish. A half wheel of orange and a cocktail cherry, or with egg white a few drops of aromatic bitters on the foam.
Method
- If using egg white, shake everything without ice first for about 10 seconds to build the foam.
- Add ice and shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice (or into a chilled coupe with no ice).
- Add the garnish; with egg white, let the foam settle for a moment first.
About the Whiskey Sour
The Whiskey Sour is the sour formula at its plainest: whiskey sharpened with lemon and rounded with sugar. Bourbon gives a softer, sweeter drink and rye a spicier one. With egg white it gains a silky body and a pale foam cap; without, it is brighter and sharper.
History
Documented
Sours were a standard category in American bar books from the start. Jerry Thomas's How to Mix Drinks (New York, 1862) prints brandy, gin and rum sours built on lemon, sugar and spirit, and the whiskey version was being ordered by name in American newspapers in the 1860s; an 1870 item in the Waukesha Plain Dealer of Wisconsin is often quoted. By the 1880s American bar manuals routinely printed a Whiskey Sour. Egg white was an optional addition in some early recipes and became common again in the cocktail revival of the 2000s.
Legend and lore
A story that a ship's steward named Elliott Stubb invented the drink in Peru in the 1870s circulates widely online. No contemporary source for it has been found, and the drink was already known in the United States before then.
Disputed or unclear: Which source is the earliest printed whiskey sour recipe is not settled; some writers credit Thomas's 1862 book, but the whiskey version may only appear in later editions.
Variations
- Gold Rush. Honey syrup in place of sugar, no egg: a modern classic from New York.
- New York Sour. A float of dry red wine poured gently over the finished drink.
- Ward Eight. Rye with lemon, orange juice and grenadine, from Boston.
- Amaretto Sour. Almond liqueur as the main spirit, often with a little bourbon added.
Bartender's notes
- Taste and adjust; lemons vary. If it is too sharp, add 5 ml more syrup rather than cutting the lemon.
- For a firmer foam, shake once with ice, strain out the ice and shake again without it.
