We’ve got all the tips and tricks to nailing the OG.
British sailors have probably left us with many lessons, but two stand out: scurvy sucks, and mixing spirits with citrus juice is a really good idea. Sour cocktails – a blend of spirit, citrus and sugar – don’t appear in print until the mid-19th century (thanks to Jerry Thomas’s cocktail bible, The Bartender’s Guide), but by then, those Brits of the high seas had long learned to keep their teeth firmly attached to their gums by mixing their rum ration with a healthy dose of vitamin C from citrus juice. It’s thanks to these pioneering scurvy-dodgers that we can now enjoy one of the world’s best cocktails: the Whiskey Sour.
Like just about every cocktail in the Sour family, the Whiskey Sour is dead simple. You traditionally take American whiskey (usually bourbon, but sometimes rye), sugar syrup and lemon juice, and shake it together over ice. These days, we tend to also add a little egg white (or aquafaba) to the mix to encourage a foamy froth on top.
Despite being so simple, there’s still a big gap between a good Whiskey Sour and a great one. So, if you want to match it with the best bars, here are five tips to nailing the Whiskey Sour.
When lemon juice sits around, its acidity dies off, the natural lemon flavour gets muted and some other undesirable flavours can emerge. When just squeezed, lemon juice has a punchy vibrant flavour and really bright acidity – and a Whiskey Sour needs that acidity to balance the sweetness. Plus, if you get fresh lemons, you’ll have lemon peel or lemon slices for garnish, so that’s a bonus.
That ratio isn’t law, though, and it’s worth tinkering with it to find your sweet spot. Feel like your cocktail is more whiskey than sour? Dial down the bourbon. Need a little more sweetness to balance the zippy lemon juice? Add more sugar syrup. Want to really make sure you’re keeping scurvy at bay? Well, you know what to do.
The first point on that froth is that the egg white means the Whiskey Sour isn’t suitable for everyone – vegans and people with egg allergies, being just two examples. If you love a frothy Sour but want to make it a little more inclusive, ditch the egg and go for aquafaba. That’s chickpea’s cooking water, and there’s plenty of it in a can of these legumes, and it’s a very good sub for egg white.
The other point is that you don’t need the froth if you don’t want it. One of my personal favourite Whiskey Sours is from Melbourne bar the Whisky Den, which serves their version ‘Prohibition-style’ without the froth. The result is akin to a boozy lemonade and, for me, I love the way the main ingredients shine when served sans froth.
With apologies to the Americans, though, you can really use any whisk(e)y you’d like if you have a preference. Scotch whiskies like Dimple 12 tend to have some fruity richness that bourbon lacks, and Islay Scotch whiskies have a smoky character that would make a perfect fireside, winter Sour. But hey, the whisky world is huge, and anything from easy-going local drams like Archie Rose Australian Malt Whisky to big, rich Irish styles like Bushmills Black will add their own character.
