Whisky Cocktail: Whiskey Sour
While most whisk(e)y* is, in my opinion, best consumed neat – that doesn’t mean that whisk(e)y cocktails are, in any way, a bad thing. Quite the opposite is true, in fact! There are literally tons of fantastic whisk(e)y cocktail recipes out there and I would certainly recommend that you try a few, should you be the type of person who generally enjoys a cocktail or two every once in a while.
That’s why I’ve decided to post a cocktail recipe every now and again – starting with the absolute classics and later venturing in to less well known territory. This being the first recipe I’m posting (not including the Old Fashioned recipe which I included as a part of my Benchmark Bourbon review), I’ve spent quite a while deliberating which cocktail to go for. In the end, I decided that it had to: be well known, delicious, only include common ingredients and, finally, be easy to make.
Thus, I decided to go for Whiskey Sour! This is indeed a quick and easy cocktail to make, perfect for a warm summer (or spring, since that’s much sooner) day. Right! Less rambling, more mixing. You’ll need:
- 2c of Bourbon or Rye – I would recommend Jim Beam, Benchmark or Rittenhouse Straight Rye
- 1c of (fresh!) Lemon juice
- 5-6 Ice cubes
- 2 tsp sugar or 1 tsp of Gomme syrup
- A dash of Angostura bitters (optional)
Method:
If using sugar, mix it with a few drops of water. Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, shake for about 20 seconds. To serve, strain into a chilled Sour Glass, with a few ice cubes, and decorate with a wedge of lemon. If you don’t have a shaker, use a thermos! And if you don’t have any Sour Glasses, I’ve seen more than one bar serve Whiskey Sour in a normal tall glass.
* What’s with the (e), you ask? Well, I normally try to use the correct spelling for each whisk(e)y ,but in the case of cocktails either can (generally) be used – hence (e).