Cocktail recipe
Vodka Sour
A clean-edged sour, bright with lemon and a soft white foam.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) vodka
- 30 ml (1 oz) fresh lemon juice
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) simple syrup (1:1)
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) pasteurized egg white, optional
- Garnish: lemon twist
Preparation
Combine vodka, lemon, syrup and optional pasteurized egg white. If using egg white, dry-shake vigorously, then shake again with ice; otherwise shake once with ice. Strain over fresh cubes and express lemon oil above the surface.
Glassware
Rocks glass, fresh cubed ice
History
The Vodka Sour has no reliably established single inventor. It belongs to the long sour family codified in 19th-century American bartending, but its vodka base reflects the spirit’s expanding Western popularity in the mid-20th century. Contemporary recipes vary between a straightforward vodka-lemon-sugar sour and a foamy egg-white version. It is misleading to give the drink a precise 1800s birth date merely because the sour template is older.
Mixology View
A neutral spirit makes technique and fresh lemon impossible to hide. The optional foam gives texture, not an excuse to oversweeten.