Whisky Sour Recipe
Lemon, sugar and whisky in balance, with an optional silky egg white.
A whisky sour works because sweet and sour are held in check by the whisky. Fresh lemon juice is not optional here.
Ingredients
- 50 ml Bourbon
- 25 ml Fresh lemon juice
- 15 ml Sugar syrup
- 20 ml Egg white (optional) For a silky foam
Garnish: Lemon wheel and cherry
How to Make a Whisky Sour
- Add whisky, lemon juice, sugar syrup and egg white (if using) to a shaker without ice.
- Dry shake hard for 10 seconds.
- Add ice and shake again for 12 seconds.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a lemon wheel and a cherry.
Best Bottles for a Whisky Sour in India
Balanced against lemon
Best value for batches
Bolder, spicier sour
Tennessee whiskey, slightly sweeter
Irish whiskey for a softer sour
Prices are the lowest listed India price and vary by state. Check each spirit page for the full state-wise table.
Tips for a Better Whisky Sour
- Squeeze lemons fresh. Bottled juice makes the drink flat.
- If you skip the egg white, add a splash of water to soften the sour.
- Dry shaking first, without ice, gives the best foam.
About the Whisky Sour
The sour is one of the oldest families of mixed drinks: spirit, citrus and sugar. Sailors were mixing their spirit ration with lemon or lime and sugar by the 1700s, partly because citrus kept scurvy away on long voyages.
The Whiskey Sour first appears as a written recipe in Jerry Thomas's How to Mix Drinks, published in New York in 1862, and a Wisconsin newspaper, the Waukesha Plaindealer, mentions it by name in 1870. Egg white came later. That version is properly called a Boston Sour, although most bars now treat the foam as standard.
It is an official International Bartenders Association (IBA) cocktail and one of the most searched whisky drinks in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Bourbon is the usual base. Rye gives a drier sour, and a soft blended Scotch or Irish whiskey also works well.
Whisky Sour Variations
- Boston Sour: the same drink with egg white, dry shaken first for a thick foam.
- New York Sour: float 15ml of dry red wine over the finished drink.
- Gold Rush: honey syrup in place of sugar syrup.
- Penicillin: blended Scotch, lemon, honey-ginger syrup and a float of smoky Islay whisky.
- Vegan Whisky Sour: 20ml of aquafaba (chickpea water) in place of egg white.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in a Whisky Sour?
How strong is a Whisky Sour?
What is the ratio for a Whisky Sour?
Do you need egg white in a Whisky Sour?
Is raw egg white in a cocktail safe?
What is the best whisky for a Whisky Sour?
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