Whiskey Sour

I have to tell you, sour cocktails are some of my absolute favorites! If you love margaritas, vodka sours, and amaretto sours then you’ll love the whiskey sour too.

What does whiskey sour taste like?

A whiskey sour, as you might expect from its name, has a sour flavor. It’s the perfect combination of Whiskey or Bourbon and sour mix.

Sour mix is used in many different cocktails. You can purchase it or you can very easily make your own! It is essentially lemon or lime juice combined with simple syrup which is basically sugar water. As you might expect, it tastes like a tart lemon or limeade.

Sour mix is a personal favorite of mine when used in most any cocktail. It gives a perfect tart pucker with just a smidge of sweet.

Bourbon has a flavor profile filled with undertones of vanilla caramel and oak. This sweet smooth flavor combined with the tart sour mix is perfect.

When to make them?

This cocktail is great for any occasion. Where as some sour cocktails like Margaritas, or even a lemon drop martini are a little more appropriate for summer sipping, the whiskey sour has a great flavor profile for warm summer and spring and also cool winter and fall. You can make them in big batches for get-togethers and celebrations or you can make a single drink at a time for enjoy the dinner or after-work relaxation.

What whiskey is best for to use?

Really any decent bourbon or whiskey work great for your whiskey sour. I really enjoy wild turkey in my whiskey sour. It has a great, smooth flavor profile and is affordable. Or if you want to splurge you can get a premium bottle. Some other brands that are good in this cocktail are Evan Williams and Old Forester.

How do you make it from scratch?

This cocktail is super easy to make and you don’t even have to buy sour mix from the store as mentioned above. So, you can make this as a totally homemade drink. this is a classic cocktail. And it has an IBA definition. That is three parts whiskey, two parts lemon juice and one part simple syrup.

You just need the following:

Bourbon or Whiskey

Lemon juice

Simple syrup

Rocks glasses (this is the set we use personally)

Ice

Jigger (we use the jigger from this set)

(optional): marachino cherry and/or orange to garnish

Get all your ingredients together and start making your drink.

Step One

Get a rocks or old fashioned glass and fill with ice.

Step Two

Fill shaker with ice.

Step Three

Add bourbon, lemon juice and simple syrup to shaker. Shake vigorously until the outside of your shaker is very cold to the touch.

Step Four

Pour bourbon mixture from shaker into rocks glass.

Step Five

You can garnish your drink with a lemon rind, sugar rim, orange slice and or maraschino cherry.

Alternative versions

Two other often made variations are the Boston sour and the New York sour.

If you add an egg white to your drink it is called a Boston sour. If you float red wine on the top of your drink it is called a New York sour.

Add some cranberry juice for a cranberry whiskey sour.

Recipe

For more great cocktails