Whiskey Sour

Bourbon Sour

A classic sour of bourbon, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup, balancing tart and sweet, with an optional silky foam.

18% ABV
Shaken
3 min
Rocks glass
sour
sweet
citrusy
strong
IBA official cocktail · The Unforgettables

about 1.1 standard drinks (US, 14 g of alcohol). Estimated after dilution with ice.

Ingredients

1½ ozBourbonThe IBA specification calls for bourbon, which gives the drink a round, slightly sweet base.
¾ ozFresh lemon juice
¾ ozSimple syrup
¾ ozEgg white (optional)Optional. Adds a silky texture and a light foam; the IBA recipe uses 20 ml.

Ice: Ice cubes · Garnish: orange, cocktail cherry

Method

Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes.
Pour 45 ml bourbon, 25 ml fresh lemon juice and 20 ml simple syrup into a shaker. Add 20 ml egg white if you use it.
Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for about 10 to 15 seconds, until the shaker is very cold.
Strain into the rocks glass over the ice cubes.
Garnish with half an orange slice and a cocktail cherry.

Tips

Squeeze the lemon juice just before mixing. Bottled juice tastes flat and makes the drink less balanced.
For a thicker foam when using egg white, shake once without ice, then again with ice.
Rye whiskey instead of bourbon gives a drier, spicier sour. Bourbon is the IBA choice and tastes rounder and sweeter.

Swaps

Missing something? These swaps change the taste a little but keep the drink balanced.

Simple syrup → Cane sugar syrup

History

Sours, a mix of spirit, citrus and sugar, were popular in the United States in the 19th century, and the whiskey version appears in American bartending guides from the 1860s. Its exact inventor is unknown. The egg white, now optional in the IBA recipe, became a common addition over time.