Cocktail recipe
Whiskey Sour
Whiskey with its collar loosened: citrus snap, measured sweetness and an optional silk-soft foam.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) bourbon
- 30 ml (1 oz) fresh lemon juice
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) simple syrup (1:1)
- optional 20 ml (⅔ oz) pasteurized egg white.
- Garnish: Expressed lemon peel and 2–3 drops aromatic bitters on foam if used.
- Ice: For shaking; fresh rocks for serving.
Preparation
For the foam version, first shake bourbon, lemon, syrup and pasteurized egg white without ice to build texture. Add ice and shake firmly again. Without egg, shake everything once over ice. Double-strain onto fresh cubes in a chilled rocks glass. Express lemon peel; if foamed, dot the surface with bitters. The drink should finish tart and lively, not syrupy.
Glassware
Double old-fashioned glass
History
The Whiskey Sour belongs to the nineteenth-century sour family rather than to a single reliably documented inventor. Sour-style formulas circulated before the cocktail's well-known appearance in later nineteenth-century bar manuals and newspapers. Stories linking its invention to one sailor or one location are generally too neat for the surviving evidence. Egg white is an established variation, not a requirement of every historical Whiskey Sour; the egg-white version is sometimes distinguished as a Boston Sour.
Mixology View
Our house version is generous with whiskey and fresh lemon. The egg is a texture decision, not a badge of authenticity. Offer both versions and identify the allergen clearly.