The Whiskey Sour is a classic drink that any bartender should know inside and out. But it can also be an easy yet satisfying drink for you to make at home.
When talking about whiskey-based cocktails one of the first names that will pop up is the Whiskey Sour. The first mention of the Whiskey Sour you will find is from a Wisconsin newspaper, Waukesha Plain Dealer in 1870. The creator of the drink Elliott Stubb was then later identified in an Universidad del Cuyo published story citing a Peruvian newspaper El Comercio de Iquique who stated the drink was made in Iquique in 1872. There have been many variants of the Whiskey Sour throughout history, most of them based off the original recipe with a slight twist or ingredient replaced or added. For example, a Whiskey sour with a few bar spoons of full-bodied red wine floated on top is known as a New York Sour (These variants will be covered in future articles). But for now, here is how to make the beloved classic.
Ingredients
2oz. (60ml) Whiskey (Bourbon or Rye)
1oz. (30ml) Fresh Lemon Juice
1oz. (30ml) Simple Syrup
2 dashes of Bitters (Use your favourite kind, I prefer Angostura Aromatic)
Garnishes : Maraschino Cherry , Orange, or Lemon slice
Served in an Old-Fashioned Lowball glass , Coupe glass or a Sour glass (also know as a Delmonico glass)
Preparation
Fill your Old-Fashioned glass with ice.
Fill your shaker will ice and all your ingredients and shake for 10-15 seconds.
Strain your mixture into your glass.
Garnish with you Maraschino cherry and chosen slice.
Further Information
One option for this drink is to include an Egg White into the mix, this will give it a richer creamier texture which is popular with a lot of people (including myself). When including this it is advised to first dry shake all the ingredients together ( this means including no ice in the shaker) before then adding ice and shaking it a second time before straining and pouring the drink.
In the picture I have included you can see the drink in a Sour glass with no ice as I thought the presentation would look better like this. Feel free to follow the recipe and use an Old-Fashioned glass with ice or go with the option I took.
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