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This whiskey sour recipe is perfectly balanced and so easy to make! Garnish with an orange peel and a cocktail cherry.
Here at A Couple Cooks, we’re cocktail experts, with over 300 cocktail recipes in our library. But the first that got us hooked on cocktails was this whiskey sour recipe! The whiskey sour is a perfectly sweet tart, balanced whiskey drink that actually dates back to the 1870’s.
Our favorite way to make it is a spin with bourbon and maple syrup, and man, is it tasty! It’s become a family favorite. Here’s the classic recipe and a few riffs and variations on this famous drink!
Whiskey sour ingredients
The whiskey sour is a sour cocktail made with whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It’s often served with an egg white foam, in which case it’s sometimes called a Boston Sour.
The earliest mention of this classic cocktail was in the 1862 book The Bartender’s Guide: How To Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas, so it’s been around for centuries. The ingredients for making a whiskey sour are simple. Here’s what you’ll need for this classic sour cocktail:
- 2 oz bourbon whiskey: as high quality as possible. (You can use any whiskey, but we prefer the flavor of bourbon.)
- 1 oz lemon juice
- ¾ to 1 oz simple syrup
- Orange or lemon peel and cocktail cherry, for garnish
Adjust the sweetness level in a whiskey sour to fit your tastes. A classic sour formula is 2:1:1, which means 2 oz spirit, 1 oz citrus and 1 oz sweetener. We prefer a whiskey sour with ¾ oz syrup, which lets the whiskey flavor shine. But if you prefer a sweeter cocktail, use up to 1 oz syrup.
Why make this whiskey sour recipe
I wasn’t a whiskey sour fan until the drink was introduced to our family by Alex’s step-father, Joe, who is extremely passionate about this sweet tart drink. When he’s entertaining, he’ll always ask: “Want a whiskey sour?” So over the years, this drink has become the standard for festive family get-togethers.
In honor of Joe’s birthday one year, we created this whiskey sour recipe as an alternative to the store-bought mix he usually buys. Making it with fresh lemon juice and bourbon makes for the very best whiskey sour! Joe started serving it often, and it’s become a smash hit with cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles alike.
Best whiskey for whiskey sours
We recommend a mid-priced bourbon for a classic whiskey sour: a bottle in the $25 to $35 range Some bourbon brands we’d recommend are: Elijah Craig Small Batch, Four Roses Small Batch, or Woodford Reserve. A higher-end option is Bulleit 10 Year Bourbon. Spicy rye whiskey also works in a whiskey sour.
A note on the sweetener
We typically use simple syrup as our cocktail sweetener of choice. But we’ve found maple syrup is a great alterative that adds a nuance to the flavor of cocktails. It’s a natural sweetener that brings caramel flavor undertones to the whiskey sour.
In back to back taste tests, maple syrup always wins! But if you prefer the pure, straightforward taste of simple syrup, you can use that too.
Whiskey sour mix for a crowd
Let’s say you’re looking for a whiskey sour mix, but you don’t want to get one of those store bought containers with lots of sugar. You can also make this recipe as a mix to make lots of drinks at once:
- Here’s how to make a whiskey sour mix for 8 drinks: Mix 1 cup lemon juice plus ¾ cup simple syrup or maple syrup. Or, make our Sweet and Sour Mix.
- To make a single drink, measure out 3 ½ tablespoons of the mix with 4 tablespoons whiskey (see Whiskey Sour Mix).
Frequently asked questions
Adding an egg white gives a silky texture and a smooth, luxurious mouthfeel to the drink. A whiskey sour can be made with or without egg whites. A whiskey sour with egg white is also called Boston Sour.
Bartenders have been adding egg whites to sour cocktails since the 1860’s or before. Several drinks contain egg white in the 1862 book The Bartender’s Guide: How To Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas.
Some people say that the best ratio for a whiskey sour is 3 parts spirits, 2 parts sour, 1 part sweet. However, the classic formula for a sour is a 2:1:1 ratio, or 2 parts spirits, 1 part sour and 1 part sweet. We prefer a 2:1:1 ratio for a whiskey sour.
A classic whiskey sour uses fresh lemon juice and simple syrup, creating a balanced and complex flavor profile. Sour mix drinks often rely on pre-made sour mixes, which can be overly sweet and lack depth.
You can use either a classic coupe glass or a rocks glass.
Pre-squeeze your lemon juice and prepare simple syrup in advance. However, assemble and serve the whiskey sour right before drinking for the freshest flavors and frothiest texture.
For an egg-free alternative to egg white foams, this Fee Brothers Cocktail Foamer has become a popular alternative. You can also use 2 tablespoons aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas.
Classic Whiskey Sour
Master the classic whiskey sour! This cocktail is easy to make at home with a few simple ingredients for a balance of sweet, tart, and boozy.
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 3 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 ounces whiskey (we prefer bourbon)
- 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 to 1 ounce simple syrup*
- Garnish: Orange peel and a cocktail cherry
- Ice, for serving
Instructions
- Add the whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Fill with a handful of ice and shake until very cold.
- Strain the drink into a lowball or Old Fashioned glass. Serve with ice, an orange peel and a cocktail cherry.
Notes
To convert to tablespoons, 1 ounce = 2 tablespoons.
* Adjust the sweetness level in a whiskey sour to fit your tastes. We also like substituting maple syrup for the simple syrup, which adds subtle caramel notes to the flavor profile.
Variations on the whiskey sour
The whiskey sour is so iconic, there are many variations on this bourbon cocktail! Here are a few notable variations:
- Wine: The popular New York Sour floats red wine on top.
- Honey: The Gold Rush is a whiskey sour made with honey syrup.
- Citrus: Try a Whiskey Sour with Lime or Cranberry Orange Whiskey Sour.
- Egg white: Make a Whiskey Sour with Egg White, also known as a Boston Sour.
- Amaretto: Infuse the drink with Italian almond liqueur for an Amaretto Whiskey Sour.
- Scotch: A Buchanan Sour uses Scotch, and the Penicillin stars Scotch and ginger honey syrup.
- Irish or rye whiskey: The Irish Sour uses Irish whiskey. The Ward 8 Cocktail is a sour featuring rye whiskey, orange and grenadine.
Want more cocktail ideas? The Whiskey Sour is on our list of the top 50 Most Popular Cocktails, along with the margarita, gin and tonic, Tom Collins, mimosa, and more.
Favorite for our get togethers with family and friends. We make it by the pitcher!
Loved your receipes.
Have you tried the Whiskey Sour with your Hot Honey recipe?
No, but I like where you’re going with this!
Don’t know how you 2 have done this ? But there must be some Very Special Chemistry going on ! 🫨
Way to go ! 😎
How many days will a batch keep in the fridge? Traveling, but would like to make ahead and bring
Good question! The mix keeps 1 week in the refrigerator — the flavor is best in first 24 hours, but it’s still good at a week.
Sa your AWESOME COCKTAIL recipes and they are just that, awesome..Had a birthday recently and had ppl over, big 60, n I wanted to use my new cocktail set I got, along with 4 bottles of bourbon, Barrell Bourbon 32, Barrell Bourbon Vantage, Barrell Bourbon Amidia and my go to Elijah Craig 1792 and we started with sipping and then I said wait let’s try some cocktails from this site, so we did the usual, my go to, The Old Fadhion, love yours but I did a twist to it, I mulled 2 cocktail cherries into your recipe and did a double strain for each and well, 5 stars my guest said, so after 2 or 3 of those I said let’s do one of the old time faves, whiskey sour, and for this I used Elijah Craig, it just seemed better since Barrell is higher in proof. So I pulled up your recipes and started with the normal, then I got a little twisty, 1 I did with the basic but plain simple syrup then twist #1 I did fresh mint mulled then shaken, LOVED IT they did. So 2 or 3 each later we did another twist, did the honey recipe but, and I hope you all don’t laugh, I did black raspberries mulled…yup I did. So after this one, everyone said DAM….I will say this wow. The flavors…this site and the recipes you have are awesome and i love adding twist to drinks, and so do my freinds…so thanks for the recipes and I will for sure use them. I have a lot of Eagle Rare and Barrell Bourbon 34 and 33 to use…thank you..
Haha! That sounds great with black raspberries!
This is my go to whiskey sour recipe! I’ve tried it with a few different bourbon brands and it’s always is delicious. Started buying maple syrup in bulk 🍁