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Ten recipes for National Whisky Sour Day
This weekend (25 August) is National Whisky Sour Day – and while you may think you know everything about this citrussy, foamy cocktail, it shouldn’t be underestimated.
As with any whisky cocktail, your choice of expression can make a huge difference – whether rye, Bourbon, Scotch or Irish, different flavour notes can be emphasised with each.
Plus, there’s always your choice of citrus and whether or not to add egg white – or even less traditional additions, like red wine or Port.
Here are 10 recipes to try out this National Whisky Sour Day.
Wild Turkey Sour
Legend has it that the Whisky Sour became popular as a tonic to ward off scurvy, with sailors downing quantities of citrus juice for the vitamin C – until someone had the bright idea to add whisky. The first recorded recipe of a Whisky Sour was written by Jerry Thomas – back then the egg white was omitted (hard to manage on a ship voyage, we guess) but he recommended either Bourbon or rye. He also dissolved a sugar cube in seltzer water – but we think this classic version from Wild Turkey, made with sugar syrup, is a lot less faff.
Ingredients:
50ml Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
25ml Lemon juice
20ml Sugar syrup
Egg white (optional)
2 dashes of bitters
Method:
Add Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white to shaker and dry shake without ice to emulsify. Then add ice and shake again. Strain into coupe glass and top off with a dash or two of bitters.
Bowsaw Bourbon New York Sour
The most common twist on a Whisky Sour is the New York Sour, which adds a red wine float to the classic. How this relates to New York, we don’t know – it was allegedly created by a Chicago bartender. And, as we’re not sticking to one particular state, here’s a recipe from Kentucky brand Bowsaw Bourbon.
Ingredients:
50ml Bowsaw Bourbon
25ml Lemon juice
15ml Rich simple syrup (2:1 ratio)
5ml Red wine
Egg white (optional)
Method:
Add the Bowsaw Bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white (optional) into a shaker with ice and shake hard until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Slowly pour the red wine over the back of a bar spoon so that the wine floats on the top of the drink.
The Otterhound
The Whisky Sour is famously short and sharp, but if you prefer your cocktails a little more mellow, this recipe from Slane Irish Whiskey might do the trick. As well as the obligatory whiskey and lemon, this serve adds sweetness and aromatic notes through Port wine and honey, with soda water to lengthen.
Ingredients:
2 parts Slane Irish Whiskey
3/4 part Freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 part Port wine
1/2 part Honey
Soda water
Orange and blackberries, for garnish
Method:
Using a shaker filled with ice, combine ingredients. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top glass with preferred soda water. Garnish with an orange slice and/or fresh blackberries.
Cotswolds Distillery Whisky Sour
This recipe is a pretty traditional Whisky Sour, but its innovation comes from the whisky. While Scotland and Ireland are giants on the whisky scene, fellow UK nation England is yet to fully make its mark on the world stage. One brand hoping (and quite significantly succeeding) to change that is the Cotswolds Distillery. Try out this recipe and you might be thinking ‘English for whisky’.
Ingredients:
60ml Cotswolds Signature Single Malt Whisky
25ml Fresh lemon juice
20ml Sugar syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1/2 Egg white
Method:
Dry shake all ingredients, add ice to shaker, shake, fine strain and serve into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel and a Maraschino cherry
Cherry Blossom Whiskey Sour
Arguably the best part of a Whisky Sour is eating the maraschino cherry garnish (especially if it’s Luxardo). This recipe from Iowa-based Templeton distillery takes its Midnight Rye expression, which is a rye whiskey blended with Port that has notes of dark cherries, and blends it with cherry bitters and yuzu liqueur for a subtle, fruity serve.
Ingredients:
45ml Templeton Midnight Rye
15ml Yuzu liqueur
7.5ml Simple syrup
7.5ml Lemon juice
3 dashes Cherry bitters
Method:
Shake over ice. Strain into a lowball glass over fresh ice. Add a float of Templeton Midnight Rye. Garnish with a cherry skewer.
Elijah Craig Whiskey Sour
You can make a Sour with any spirit, but whisky and amaretto are the most common. Why not mix them together, as with this recipe from Bourbon brand Elijah Craig?
Ingredients:
37.5ml Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
12.5ml Amaretto
25ml Lemon juice
12.5ml Gomme
3 dashes of bitters
Egg white or foamer
Method:
Dry shake all ingredients together and serve in a rocks glass with a cherry garnish.
Capel Street Sour
Lemon juice is usually the star of a Whisky Sour, with its green cousin often forgotten. This recipe spotlights lime juice, with its bitterness balanced out by The Dubliner’s Whiskey & Honeycomb Irish Liqueur.
Ingredients:
50ml The Dubliner Whiskey & Honeycomb Irish Liqueur
25ml Lime juice
15ml Demerara sugar syrup (2:1 ratio)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Mint leaf, for garnish
Method:
Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker until chilled. Garnish with a mint leaf – gently slap the mint leaf first to release the oils and aromas. Squeeze the lime wedge and add to the drink.
Woodford Reserve Malt Whiskey Sour
Woodford Reserve makes a big deal out of Old Fashioneds – it hosts an annual event celebrating the cocktail and even sells a syrup designed to make creating one even easier. But while an Old Fashioned might be the perfect serve for its Bourbon, the brand also creates a malt whiskey, which is a star player in this Sour recipe.
Ingredients:
2 parts Woodford Reserve Malt Whiskey
1/2 part Simple syrup
3/4 part Fresh lemon juice
1/4 part Egg white or aquafaba
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Lemon peel twist, for garnish
Method:
Shake egg white in cocktail shaker. Add Woodford Reserve Malt Whiskey, simple syrup, lemon juice and shake vigorously. Strain over an ice block. Garnish with a dash of Angostura Bitters and lemon peel twist.
Kirker Sour
This is another serve that plays with lime instead of lemon, possibly inspired by Kirker’s roots on the Emerald Isle (the fruit isn’t quite the right shade of green, but it’s certainly delicious).
Ingredients:
50ml Kirker Shamrock
25ml Fresh lime juice
15ml Sugar syrup
Egg white
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Lemon wedge, for garnish
Method:
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Dry shake, then shake with ice. Fine strain into a chilled rocks glass over ice.
Crown Royal Whisky Sour
Irish, American, English… now it’s time for a Canadian Whisky Sour. Crown Royal recently launched a bottled version of the cocktail, flavoured with black cherry, but if you want to make a more traditional one yourself, the brand has provided a recipe.
Ingredients:
45ml Crown Royal Fine De Luxe Blended Canadian Whisky
45m Lemon juice
7.5ml Simple syrup
1 lemon wedge or maraschino cherry
Method:
Combine ingredients in an ice-filled shaker. Shake well. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge or maraschino cherry.
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