The Ideal Whiskey Sour
I have a very mixed relationship with the whiskey sour. It's my favorite cocktail, but it's not what I order when I go out. My father makes a mean whiskey sour (with Bar-Tender mix) and that was really the first cocktail I experienced - and majorly influenced the name of this blog (you seriously can't have a whiskey sour without cherries). He's taught me how to make this cocktail many times, but somehow it's never quite right when I make it. It always tastes too sweet and manufactured, even though my dad's never tastes that way.
I reached legal drinking age just a few years before the craft cocktail movement came roaring through. Sex and the City had just made Cosmos THE go-to drink, and it was hard to find a real cocktail without vodka (not my favorite). Imagine my disappointment when I first went to the bar to order my favorite cocktail... and got something neon green out of soda hose. Undeterred, I tried again and again at different bars. Surely SOMEONE knew how to make a whiskey sour; this was a basic cocktail, right? After many terrible ectoplasm-colored cocktails, I finally gave up.
These days, there ARE places that can make a true whiskey sour, with egg white and the whole deal. Which is wonderful, but it still isn't quite what I want. Finally, I stumbled onto a bag of (magical) Meyer lemons... and I fixed it. The use of simple syrup also makes it easy to zazz things up - whiskey works so well with herbal simple syrups, so rosemary, thyme, or mint simple syrups can make this into something really special.
That said, if Chile Sullivan offers to make you a whiskey sour with his packet of Bar-Tender mix, you should say yes.
Ideal Whiskey Sour
2 1/2 oz. whiskey or bourbon
1 oz. Meyer lemon juice
1/2 to 3/4 oz. simple syrup (amount depends on how sweet the whiskey is; herbed simple syrup works well)
Several dashes bitters
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Pour into a rocks glass with ice, a cherry, and a slice of orange for garnish.
I reached legal drinking age just a few years before the craft cocktail movement came roaring through. Sex and the City had just made Cosmos THE go-to drink, and it was hard to find a real cocktail without vodka (not my favorite). Imagine my disappointment when I first went to the bar to order my favorite cocktail... and got something neon green out of soda hose. Undeterred, I tried again and again at different bars. Surely SOMEONE knew how to make a whiskey sour; this was a basic cocktail, right? After many terrible ectoplasm-colored cocktails, I finally gave up.
These days, there ARE places that can make a true whiskey sour, with egg white and the whole deal. Which is wonderful, but it still isn't quite what I want. Finally, I stumbled onto a bag of (magical) Meyer lemons... and I fixed it. The use of simple syrup also makes it easy to zazz things up - whiskey works so well with herbal simple syrups, so rosemary, thyme, or mint simple syrups can make this into something really special.
That said, if Chile Sullivan offers to make you a whiskey sour with his packet of Bar-Tender mix, you should say yes.
Ideal Whiskey Sour
2 1/2 oz. whiskey or bourbon
1 oz. Meyer lemon juice
1/2 to 3/4 oz. simple syrup (amount depends on how sweet the whiskey is; herbed simple syrup works well)
Several dashes bitters
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Pour into a rocks glass with ice, a cherry, and a slice of orange for garnish.
Comments
Post a Comment