Whiskey Sour (low-calorie)
Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 13.8% ABV ∙
This low-calorie Whiskey Sour is a bourbon sour made with a sugar-free sweetener syrup in place of simple syrup, double-shaken with lemon juice and egg white. The finish stays crisp and light rather than syrupy, with a cushiony foam cap giving way to a tart, clean-tasting sip.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Bourbon 45 mlLemon juice 30 mlSugar-free sweetener syrup 20 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 2 dashesEgg white 15 ml
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake
- Fine strain into the ice-filled glass
- Garnish with a lemon slice
Tips
- Shake once with ice to chill and integrate, then dry shake without ice to build the egg-white foam properly.
- Fine-strain into the ice-filled glass so no shaken egg-white foam or ice shards break the surface.
History
Whiskey Sour (low-calorie) is a modern dietary twist on the classic Whiskey Sour, replacing sugar syrup with a sugar-free sweetener to cut calories; no specific bartender, bar, or year is documented for this reduced-calorie version, which appears mainly as a home-bar and recipe-site variation rather than a codified original.
Its parent, the Whiskey Sour, is one of the oldest named cocktail families in American drinking history. The earliest known printed recipe appears in Jerry Thomas's 1862 bar guide, with the drink also turning up in an 1870 Wisconsin newspaper and again in an 1872 account from a bar in Iquique, Peru, though its exact origin and earliest claimant remain disputed. The low-calorie version keeps that same whiskey-lemon-sugar structure but swaps in a sugar-free sweetener for a lighter, lower-calorie pour.
FAQ
Is a Whiskey Sour low in calories?
This version is, at about 120 calories per serving, because it replaces the usual simple syrup with a sugar-free sweetener syrup. It is also keto-friendly and lactose-free, so the calorie savings come from cutting sugar, not the bourbon or egg white.
How do you make a skinny Whiskey Sour?
Swap the simple syrup for a sugar-free sweetener syrup, as this recipe does, keeping the bourbon, fresh lemon juice, and egg white the same. Double-shaking it first with ice, then again without, still gives the drink its usual chilled, foamy texture despite the lighter syrup.
How do you make a Whiskey Sour without sugar?
Use a sugar-free sweetener syrup in place of simple syrup, which is exactly the substitution this recipe makes. The rest of the build stays standard: bourbon, fresh lemon juice, egg white, and a couple of dashes of bitters, double-shaken and strained over ice.
