What's new

The Sour - B&B Classic Cocktails

The Sour. Another oft-ignored, yet incredibly versatile and undeniably classic cocktail. Versatile because there's hardly a base liquor you can't use to prepare a "sour" - there are probably a few you shouldn't, if you like things that taste good, but the term "sour" hearkens back to the good 'ol days of drinking, when one might order by simply stating the base liquor and the style. For example, fizzes, slings, sours, and even the term "cocktail" which originally referred specifically to a drink mixed with liquor, a sweetener, and bitters (which makes an Old-Fashioned a "whiskey cocktail") could all be used to describe ways of preparing a mixed drink. So while I'll be showing you how to make a "whiskey sour" here, vodka sours, gin sours, brandy sours, etc are all possible variations. A "sour," by definition, contains a base liquor, lemon or lime juice, and a sweetener (which can be bar syrup, fruit juice, grenadine, etc).

This drink is a tad more involved than the ones we've highlighted in earlier chapters, so I hope you'll forgive all the pictures and diversions. But believe me, a good sour is very much worth the effort.

So, first... gather your supplies:

full


Bar syrup, lemons with juicer, ice, shaker with strainer, bourbon, an egg (not shown: maraschino cherry garnish)

full


The first thing you're going to want to do is juice your lemons. Only have bottled lemon juice? Don't bother. Seriously. Your cocktails will taste so much better with fresh squeezed citrus juice. You can get your fill of cocktails with premade sour mix, etc at your local sports bar. If you're a B&Ber and mixing at home, I know you want to do it right -- and believe me, there's no substitute for fresh-squeezed lemon juice here.

full


Now, measure your bourbon. Notice I said nothing about putting ice in your shaker yet? That's deliberate. Hold off for now... we'll get to it.

full


The basic ratio for the sour recipe is 3:2:1, bourbon to lemon juice to syrup. Of course, this can be adjusted slightly, especially if you've got a weaker bourbon than WT 101 or make your bar syrup more/less sweet than I do. But using WT 101, and 1:1.5 ratio syrup (see below), this is what I find works best.

So I'm using my shaker cap again, with each capful equaling 1 part. Pour each of the 3 liquid ingredients into the shaker.

full


(Yeah, I made a little bit of a mess) :blushing:

Now, a note about bar syrup. Sometimes known as simple syrup. To make this, you boil water and dissolve normal sugar into it. "Simple", right? How much sugar do you use? Well, that's where it gets tricky. Some folks say 1:1, and some folks say 2:1 (2 dry cups of sugar per 1 liquid cup boiling water). I draw a line down the middle and usually make mine with 1.5 cups of sugar per cup of water. But depending on your general taste in cocktails -- whether you like them more or less sweet -- you may wish to choose a side. Because bar syrup is a commonly called-for ingredient, its something you may want to give more than a passing thought, as you may be using it in multiple drinks over time. After dissolving the sugar, I pour it into a leftover glass club soda bottle (as I usually only make ~8oz at a time), and store in the fridge. It'll keep for 6 weeks or so. Some say adding a shot of vodka will make it keep longer.

full


full


Now. Stop. You've got your 3 liquid ingredients sitting in your shaker, with no ice. What you've got here is a bit of an emulsion (not really in the strict chemistry sense) that needs a moment of mixing at room temperature to really blend the flavors. It also helps to do this before adding the dash of egg white (see below), so it adds a nice smooth frothiness but doesn't over-cream the whole drink, so to speak. So give your shaker a bit of a stir/swirl at this point to marry the flavors, and let it sit for a minute. You'll think I'm crazy, but this really does make for a better drink, IMHO.

While you're letting it sit, crack an egg and extract a little bit of the white.

full


Don't go nuts trying to separate the whole white from the yolk. You only need a little -- a tsp or so.

full


Now, I understand that some folks might bristle at the raw egg white thing. I have a degree in Microbiology, and it doesn't bother me. I don't think there's really all that much of a risk. Of course, use fresh eggs, yadda yadda. But if it still bothers you, leave it out. No biggie. In that case, I do recommend serving the drink on the rocks. But I particularly like the texture that the egg white adds to the drink, which IMHO is best served shanken and strained.

full


After you've added the egg white and given the shaker another quick swirl, what you have will look a little bit like this:

full


Now, drop in your ice. Try not to "plop" the cubes in -- just slide them down the side of the shaker so as not to cause your drink to splash out. Add ice until the shaker is about half full.

full


Now pop on your lid and give it a good shake. Because you'll be straining this into a (probably unchilled) glass without ice, make sure you get it good and frosty. If you've got a stainless steel shaker like I do, keep shaking until you get a nice bit of condensation on the outside.

full


When you pull off the lid, your drink will now look a bit like this:

full


Pop on your strainer...

full


And pour:

full


Garnish with a marachino cherry, and a lime or orange wedge

full


And there you have it! A delicious bourbon sour. A tasty, sweet-n-sour way to enjoy liquor that's still classic and masculine (but that's not to say SWMBO won't like it too!)

Enjoy and cheers!

:a54:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I like to make a whiskey sour 4:2:1 Maker's Mark:lime juice:vanilla simple syrup(15:1 by volume hot water:sugar with vanilla extract to taste)

The vanilla really brings the richness of good bourbon to the front without being fru-fru.

I would agree with the OP that a raw egg poses little danger, especially when dropped into an antimicrobial(booze has many uses).
 
Excellent job. I will sometimes make my own sour mix if I'm having a gathering and expect to make numerous sours over the course of an evening. In fact, it'll keep in the fridge for a few days up to a week. Of course, the fresher the juice the better the drink.
 
Can also be made with just about everything - rum, brandy, Midori (chicks dig it), gin, amaretto (a particular tasty variation), pisco (see Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide, 1947, for the story behind this one), etc., etc., etc....

If you go to the right kind of bar they will make these up using a proper mixing machine (just like a milkshake mixer) which produces fantastic results.
 
I picked up a bottle of Pisco just for pisco sours. Good stuff.
I've got a chilean pisco, now I need to try a peruvian pisco.

The bottle sure is cool though. It sits ontop of my liquor cabinet guarding my spirits from evil spirits.
proxy.php
 
Now that I have my syrup sorted out :cool: I tried a couple of these last night. Pat, thanks again - this is a great drink. I'd go as far as to say it's my favourite mixed drink in fact.
 
Before you say that, you'd better try a Sazerac Cocktail. :tongue:

Tim

Ok, ...so far. :smile:

I think this one might remain elusive, it's very hard to get rye over here without paying through the nose via an online retailer. I'm not sure I would use the Peychards that much either - it could prove to be an expensive experiment.

If the opportunity presents itself though... :wink:
 
Ok, Rik. You can make a fairly good Sazerac with a few simple substitutions. Try Seagram's 7 instead of the rye whiskey. Almost any anise flavored liqueur can be used in place of the absinthe - Pernod or even Sambucca Romana. And you can use Angostura bitters.

It won't be exactly right, but it can still be a damned fine drink.

BTW, where are you?

Tim
 
I woke up this morning after having a dream in which I was drinking a whiskey sour. It was so vivid that I could still taste it when I woke up. After reading this, I'm all ready to make it happen.
 
Top Bottom