Whiskey Sour
A sour and balanced whiskey cocktail ∙ Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 15.2% ABV ∙
The Whiskey Sour is a classic sour of bourbon, fresh lemon juice and sugar syrup, shaken hard, with an optional egg white for a silky foam.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake: Bourbon 45 mlLemon juice 25 mlSugar syrup 20 mlEgg white 5 ml (opt.)
- Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice
- Or, to serve straight up, strain into a chilled coupe
- Garnish with an orange slice, a maraschino cherry and an orange twist (opt.)
Tips
- Lemons vary in sourness, so taste before you change the 20 ml of syrup; it should tame the lemon, not bury it.
History
The Whiskey Sour belongs to the Sour family — spirit, citrus, and sweetener — that Jerry Thomas codified in his 1862 guide How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant's Companion. That book included a Brandy Sour, a Gin Sour, and a rum-based Santa Cruz Sour, but no whiskey version. The whiskey drink appears in print as early as 1826, in a list of ways whisky could be drunk. In the Waukesha Plain Dealer, a Wisconsin newspaper, on January 4, 1870, a patron orders "another whisky sour" with no explanation, suggesting readers already knew it.
The sour format echoes older naval practice — sailors mixing citrus into spirit rations to ward off scurvy — though that lineage applies to the sour category, not to a whiskey-specific invention. No single creator, bar, or city is credited.
The drink went on to become one of the most consistently popular American cocktails from the 19th century through the 1960s. In the later 19th century bartenders added a float of red wine, a variant known variously as the Continental Sour and the New York Sour.
FAQ
What is in a Whiskey Sour?
Bourbon, fresh lemon juice, and sugar syrup, shaken with ice. Egg white is optional; add it for a silkier texture and a foam on top.
What alcohol is best for a Whiskey Sour?
Bourbon, which is what this recipe uses: its caramel and vanilla notes stand up to the tart lemon. Rye makes a spicier, drier sour, but bourbon gives the softer, sweeter version most people expect.
Is Crown Royal good for a Whiskey Sour?
It works, but it makes a lighter, softer drink. Crown Royal is a Canadian whisky, not a bourbon, so you get less of the caramel depth this recipe's bourbon brings.
What's the secret to a perfect Whiskey Sour?
Fresh lemon juice, syrup measured to balance it, and a hard shake, long enough to fully emulsify the egg white if you use one.
What are common mistakes when making a Whiskey Sour?
The most common mistakes are over-sweetening to mask a weak lemon and under-shaking the egg white so it never emulsifies.
What is a 3:2:1 Whiskey Sour?
It is a ratio: three parts whiskey, two parts lemon juice, one part sugar syrup, a common shorthand for mixing the drink to taste. This recipe uses less lemon and more syrup than that: 45 ml bourbon, 25 ml lemon juice, and 20 ml sugar syrup, with optional egg white.
