Classic

Whiskey Sour

A generational favourite

Ingredients

45mlBourbon
22.5mlLemon Juicefreshly squeezed
15mlRich Demerara Syrup
15mlEgg Whiteor Aquafaba if you're dairy-free
3 dropsOld Fashioned Bitters

Make it well

Shake

Directions

1. Add all your ingredients into your shaking tin 2. If your using egg white or aquafaba close your shaking tin (before adding ice) and shake for 10-12 seconds 3. Add ice to your shaking tin and shake for another 10-12 seconds - be careful, it will want to expand! Hold tight! 4. Double strain into the glass. You should have a nice foamy layer on top 5. Spritz a lemon twist over the top and add 3 drops of bitters into the foam. If you're being fancy take a cocktail skewer and drag it through the bitters and you'll make these lovely hearts.

Taste

On the nose it's spicy and fresh, really bright and citrusy. On tasting you get lemon up front followed by the barrel notes and spice from the bourbon - get a quality bourbon for this one. A timeless classic here. Just lovely and one of our favourites.

Origin

First print of this classic cocktail is found in Jerry Thomas' book: The Bartenders Guide, printed in 1862. The story usually told is that sailors got there long before Thomas wrote it down. Throughout the 1800s scurvy was a killer to sailors lacking Vitamin C and surviving on poor quality drinking water, so they began taking lemons and limes aboard. Disliking the raw taste of the juice, the inventive sailors mixed it with spirit and sugar, and the sour was born. It's a good story, and it's honestly truer of punch and grog than of this drink in particular, but the family resemblance is close enough that you can see how the one led to the other.

Keep pouring