Egg Sour
Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 26.3% ABV ∙
The Egg Sour is a brandy sour built with cognac, orange curaçao, lemon juice, and a whole egg, double-shaken into a silky, foam-topped drink. Thick and velvety from the whole egg, with cognac's dried-fruit warmth, a bright citrus snap, and a lingering aromatic-bitters top note on a cloud-like foam.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Cognac 30 mlOrange curaçao liqueur 30 mlLemon juice 10 mlSugar syrup 5 mlEgg 1 pc
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake (without ice)
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with an aromatic bitters drop
Tips
- Shake the whole egg with the cognac, curaçao, lemon and syrup over ice first, then strain the liquid back into the empty shaker.
- Dry shake that chilled mix hard for 12-15 seconds without ice — the foam is built on this second pass, and cutting it short leaves the drink flat.
- Fine strain into the chilled coupe to remove any egg chalazae and ice shards, giving a smooth, tight foam cap.
History
The Egg Sour belongs to the old family of sour cocktails built on spirit, citrus, and sweetener, a category documented as early as Jerry Thomas's 1862 guide, How to Mix Drinks. Non-alcoholic versions of an "Egg Sour" appear in early American bar guides such as O.H. Byron's, but the boozy brandy-and-curaçao version known today is traced at least to the 1888 Police Gazette Bartender's Guide. The drink is most commonly associated with Lucius Beebe's 1946 Stork Club Bar Book, which is the source usually credited for popularizing the modern recipe of cognac, orange curaçao, and whole egg.
FAQ
What is an egg sour?
An egg sour is a sour cocktail made with a whole egg instead of just the white, giving it a richer, custard-like body alongside the usual spirit, citrus, and sweetener. This build uses cognac and orange curacão with lemon juice and sugar syrup, double-shaken and topped with aromatic bitters.
What is the formula for a sour cocktail?
The classic sour formula is spirit, citrus, and sweetener, often written as a base spirit plus lemon or lime juice plus sugar syrup. This build follows that structure with cognac and orange curacão as the spirit component, lemon juice for acid, and sugar syrup for sweetness, with a whole egg added for texture.
How do you make an egg white sour?
An egg white sour is shaken twice: with ice first to chill and dilute, then strained back into the empty shaker and shaken again without ice to whip the egg white into a foam. This recipe uses the whole egg rather than just the white, which is why it calls for a double shake and a fine strain into a coupe glass.
Is an Egg Sour shaken or stirred?
Shaken, specifically double-shaken. It goes with ice first to chill and dilute, then back into the empty shaker for an ice-free second shake, which is what emulsifies the whole egg into a stable foam before it is strained.
What glass is an Egg Sour served in?
A coupe glass, with the drink strained up and finished with drops of aromatic bitters on the foam.
How do bartenders prep egg whites for cocktails?
Bartenders crack each egg into a separate container first to check freshness before it goes anywhere near the shaker, since one bad egg can ruin an entire batch. For a whole-egg drink like this one, everything is shaken with ice first, then strained back into the empty shaker and shaken again without ice, which is what whips the egg into a stable foam.
