Whiskey Sour
Bourbon, lemon, perfect balance.
Bourbon, fresh lemon and sugar syrup shaken with ice: the quintessential sour. A few optional drops of egg white add a soft foam that rounds off the acidity.
- IBA · The Unforgettables
- Aperitif
- Shaken
- Glass
- Goblet
- Method
- Shaken
- Strength
- Medium
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- No ice
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Bourbon whiskey
45 ml
-
Lemon juice
25 ml
-
Simple syrup
20 ml
-
Egg white (optional)
to taste
Garnish
- Half orange slice
- Maraschino cherry
- Orange twist (optional)
Proportions
How to make
- Pour the bourbon into the shaker.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Add the sugar syrup.
- Optionally add a few drops of egg white.
- Fill the shaker with ice.
- Shake well, harder if using egg white.
- Strain into the glass.
- Garnish with half an orange slice and a cherry.
The story
Origins
DocumentedOrigin attested by written sources of the time.
Nobody invented the Whiskey Sour: it is a direct heir of punch, the blend of spirit, citrus, sugar and water that British sailors also drank to fend off scurvy. The first recorded Sour appears in 1856 on a drinks list from a Toronto saloon, and in 1862 Jerry Thomas's manual printed the first sour recipes, based on brandy, gin and rum. The whiskey sour is already mentioned that same year by a Syracuse newspaper, and in the following years it turns up on American price lists and in newspapers such as the Waukesha Plain Dealer of 1870. Over the nineteenth century it became one of the most popular drinks in the United States.
Sources (5)
- IBA — Whiskey Sour (opens in a new tab) recipe
- Difford's Guide — Sour cocktails history (opens in a new tab) history
- Barry Popik — Whiskey Sour (opens in a new tab) history
- Chowhound — The origins of the classic Whiskey Sour (opens in a new tab) history
- Punch — How well do you know the Whiskey Sour? (opens in a new tab) history
Taste profile
- Sour
- 4 out of 5
- Citrus
- 3 out of 5
- Strong
- 3 out of 5
- Sweet
- 2 out of 5
