How To Make An Amaretto Whiskey Sour
The amaretto whiskey sour is just as easy as either of the two sour cocktails of its namesake. Heres what to do:
The technique above is a called a Dry Shake. The dry shake agitates the egg white in the cocktail shaker so that it forms the beautifully frothy foam topping. If youre not using an egg white, you can skip the shaking without ice and just shake it up like a normal cocktail.
Whats The Best Whiskey For A Whiskey Sour
This is a matter of personal preference you can absolutely use whatever whiskey you normally drink in your cocktail. But its typically made with bourbon whiskey , specifically an 80-proof bourbon. Bourbon is a preferred option as its slightly sweeter than other whiskeys, usually with a touch of vanilla.
Whatever whiskey you choose, opt for at least a mid-range liquor. A better whiskey will give you a better drink you will taste the difference!
History Of The Whiskey Sour
The whiskey sour made its official debut in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 “The Bon Vivant’s Companion” , which was the first published bartending guide. However, you can trace the cocktail’s roots to a century before that.
In general, sour drinks were initially created to fight off scurvy among British Navy sailors during the 1700s. Most often, this meant adding lime to the rum rations . Not only did it ward off disease, the rum or gin helped preserve the perishable fruit juice on long voyages.
From there, the addition of a little sugar enhanced the citrus-liquor combination. The result was a more drinkable and very tasty beverage. These eventually became known as the sour family of drinks, which have remained popular the whiskey sour remains the most notable.
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The Best Whiskeys For Whiskey Sours In 2021
- Post category:Whiskey Mixology
Whiskey Advocate calls the Whiskey Sour the essential whiskey cocktail. Its universal simplicity and elegance are making a comeback.
Versatile and delicious, it has a long history and dates back to the very inception of mixology! Even better? Its so easy to make you can quite easily try it at home. And youll definitely be able to order it at any bar you visit. What goes best? Weve looked at five classic whiskeys that will change the flavor profile of your cocktail from bourbon to rye, to even smoky scotch!
Whether youre thinking of ordering it at your next happy hour or want to add it to your home cocktail bar, well give you a run-down of everything you need to know about Whiskey Sours.
What To Do When Making A Whiskey Sour
Include an egg white for optimal texture.
A Whiskey Sour made with an egg white is formally referred to as the Boston Sour, but if you order a standard Whiskey Sour at a bar today, almost every contemporary bartender will serve it to you with an egg white. Traditionally, the first sours were made without egg white, says Patrick Abalos, owner and partner of Houstons Night Shift. I prefer it with egg white. It adds depth and body to the cocktail, especially with a good whiskey.
Egg whites add texture and mouthfeel, adds Aaron Wall, co-owner of London-based Irish cocktail bar Homeboy. Ive no problem using a substitute , but it has to give the same results.
With an emulsifier like egg white, or the vegan chickpea brine aquafaba, a Whiskey Sour is rich, frothy, velvety, and well structured to tame the sourness of the citrus, making the cocktail perfectly balanced. Without it, the Whiskey Sour loses depth and tends to feel out of sync.
Choose a high-proof whiskey with a flavor profile you like.
The most important ingredient in the Whiskey Sour is the whiskey. No matter how fresh the citrus is, your Whiskey Sour will be substandard if you skimp on the whiskey but you dont need to break the bank. We recommend spending at least $20 on a bottle to make sure youre getting a reliable, high-quality whiskey.
At the end of the day, you know what you like best. And our bartending experts also have recommendations.
Put your own spin on the classic template.
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Cocktail Cherry Maraschino Cherry Or Cherry Garnish For The Whiskey Sour
The cocktail cherry can be found as a garnish in many cocktails and so, of course, in the whiskey sour. For most people, it is one of those things that they have seen many times but don’t actually know anything about. Here are a few facts about the cocktail cherry:
- The cocktail cherry is also called the Maraschino cherry. This name comes from a type of sour cherry that originated in Croatia, the Maraska cherries. These used to be preserved in Maraschino liqueur.
- Nowadays, different types of cherries are used and first bleached by a brine with salt, sulphur dioxide and calcium chloride to give them their usual colour with food colouring. To preserve them, they are pickled in malt sugar. Flavourings are also added.
If you want to find out even more information about the cocktail cherry, I can recommend this article on the from the New York Times. By the way, I recommend you try your whiskey sour next time with real maraschino cherries.
Can I Make This In Advance
This is a cocktail that should be served immediately after its shaken, so should not be made in advance. But if you want to serve this cocktail to guests, you could always juice the lemons ahead of time and keep the juice chilled in the fridge. This will speed up the cocktail making after your guests arrive!
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Best Whiskey For A Sour
You can use whatever whiskey you like for a sour, but we have some favorite types. Heres what wed recommend adding to the sour mix:
- Bourbon: Our top pick! The sweet flavor of bourbon whiskey is ideal
- Jameson Irish whiskey: Jameson is very mild and has less of a whiskey burn
- Rye whiskey: Rye whiskey has a spicy burn on the finish
How Do I Recognize A Good Bourbon
A good Bourbon Whisky is comparatively mild on the palate, soft on the finish and has fine flavours of vanilla, oak, fruit, spices and honey. The taste should be complex but not artificially enhanced.
Here are some examples of whiskies in the lower price range:
Maker’s Mark, Four Roses or Knob Creek
The additional information for Bourbon Whisky is of course also important. The addition Straight means that the whisky has been aged for at least two years in new American oak casks. Kentucky Straight Bourbon or Kentucky Bourbon must have been distilled in Kentucky. Tennessee straight whiskey or Tennessee whiskey must have been distilled in Tennessee.
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This Delicious Drink Has Been A Favorite For Centuries
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Though a whiskey sour may seem old-fashioned and reserved for the likes of your grandfather, this timeless cocktail is surprisingly easy to make and delicious, too! With an illustrious history and a simple ingredient list, this drink is sure to make you feel classy and dignified whenever you order it. Unlike many cocktails, a whiskey sour isas the name impliessour in taste rather than sweet. So if you can’t stand sugary drinks but aren’t up for straight liquor either, this is a great alternative. But if you’re still wondering, what is a whiskey sour, exactly? I’ve got you covered.
How To Make A Whiskey Sour From Scratch
Place whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white in a cocktail shaker. Dont add in the ice just yet. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. This will incorporate the egg white properly. If you are making more than 1 drink, do not increase amount of egg whites, that is not necessary. 1 egg white will be enough for 2 drinks .
Add ice and shake again, for around 15 seconds more, this to chill the drink. Strain into a glass using a fine-mesh sieve. Garnish with a lemon slice and serve!
Serve immediately with a slice of lemon, and a marachino cherry if you feel like it, as thats the traditional way of serving it. I just have bad associations with these cherries, so I dont like them as decor. Its just me, not the cherry.
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This recipe was originally published on July 4th 2018, but updated on May 12th 2021 for better content and photos.
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Best Flavored: Traverse City American Cherry Edition
Courtesy of Drizly
Region: MI | ABV: 35% | Tasting Notes: Cherry, Cinnamon, Oak
Is the cocktail-soaked cherry your favorite part of a Whiskey Sour? Shake your next cocktail up with this cherry-flavored whiskey from the Cherry Capital of the World, Traverse City, Michigan.
Flavored with tart, locally grown Montmorency cherries, it retains its whiskey soul while still showing fruit-forward flavors. Because of this character, it doesnt get lost in a Whiskey Sour, still adding earthy whiskey notes while layering on extra notes of rich, cherry sweetness. For a true Traverse City Whiskey Sour, garnish with the brands own cocktail cherries.
How Do I Mix A Whisky Sour Vegan
As a vegan alternative to protein, water from a can of chickpeas is suitable. This water is also called Aquafaba. Simply replace the protein from my recipe with 2cl of water from a can of chickpeas and process it in exactly the same way as the protein.
In the water there are similar proteins as in the egg white, which binds the cocktail and creates a beautiful foam crown.
If you don’t want to use canned chickpea water, you can also buy bottled Aquafaba. Fee Foam you can get for example in this shop.
As an alternative to fresh eggs, egg white powder is also suitable. This has a longer shelf life and can be easily mixed with water if required. One teaspoon corresponds to about half an egg white. When mixing, it is best to put the powder in the shaker last so that it mixes well with the other ingredients.
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Rittenhouse Rye Bottled In Bond
A Bottled in Bond whiskey must adhere to very specific rules for instance, the whiskey must be distilled in a single location for one distilling season. These regulations result in a spirit with both complexity and consistency, and thats why head bartender Sarah Rosner of Bourbon Steak in Washington, D.C., likes to use Rittenhouse Ryes Bottled In Bond version for whiskey sours. This spirit is bold and spicy in flavor. But it is also big enough at 100 proof to shine through the raw egg white, says Rosner of this particular bottle.
What Is The Difference Between Whisky Sour And Whiskey Sour
Whisky Sour also appears in the spelling Whiskey Sour. Some also spell it Whiskysour or Whiskeysour. But which spelling is the right one? It depends on the direction you look from. If we look in the largest American online dictionary the spelling “Whiskey” is suggested. If you look in Cambridge Dictionary, the spelling “Whisky” is suggested. Since Whiskey Sour originally became popular in the American area, one could say that the spelling with the extra letter is correct. Especially if you prepare the Whiskey Cocktail with Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
When people in Europe talk about whisky, they often mean Scotch whisky. And it is written like this: whisky.
But of course there are exceptions here too. The American whiskey producer Maker’s Mark uses the spelling without an e, although this is straight bourbon whiskey.
In the end it doesn’t matter how you write it. What is meant, of course, is one thing: The tastiest cocktail with whisky on this earth!
On the following diagram you can see which of the two terms in Germany has been searched more frequently on Google in the last twelve months.
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Why Do We Have Egg Whites In Cocktails
The egg white helps to reduce the acidity from the lemon, and it also binds the flavors together. The cocktail will get a little cloudy and get a lovely foam on top.
I know a lot of people freak out when they see the recipe and it calls for raw egg whites let me tell you, you cannot taste it! Its completely flavorless. The egg white gives a pretty white foam and it can be omitted if you really want to. But if it is solely for the Oh but I dont like eggs then that excuse wont work.
However, it may taste a little off if the drink sits for too long. So if youre not planning on drinking it right away, I would also omit it. And 1 egg white will be enough for two drinks, so you dont have to multiply that when making several drinks at once. But you can, of course!
Where Did The Whiskey Sour Come From
The first mention of the whiskey sour was in 1862 from The Bartenders Guide by Jerry Thomas. However, its likely that people were drinking whiskey sours long before this. Like so many spirits and cocktails, we can thank sailors for this delicious cocktail.
Traveling by sea was difficult in the 1800s. It was particularly difficult to find clean, fresh water on long voyages, making whiskey, rum and other spirits very popular with sailors. In addition to the lack of clean water, many sailors suffered from scurvy, a potentially fatal disease that was caused, in part, by a lack of vitamin C.
Enter the lemon.
Sailors would take huge amounts of lemons, limes and oranges on voyages. They would also bring alcohol, and the best alcohol was kept at room temperature, like whiskey and bourbon.
The whiskey sour was a perfect combination of citrus, to combat scurvy, and whiskey to quench the sailors thirst.
For years whiskey sours were enjoyed by sailors on the sea. Once it finally made it to the shores of the United States, its popularity continued. Bartenders today often add egg white to create the classic foam texture. Many variations have also been created over the years, the most famous of which is the New York Sour. The New York Sour is the classic whiskey sour, with a splash of red wine on top.
New York Sour
Because there are endless combinations of whiskey and citrus, we do not see this cocktail going away any time soon.
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Recipe Tips And Variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 cocktail.
- Big batch: To make a batch of 8 cocktails, combine 16 ounces whiskey, 6 ounces lemon juice, and 6 ounces lemon juice in a pitcher. Have ice, glassware, and garnishes on hand so guests can help themselves.
- No cocktail shaker: Fill a large glass with ice. Add the drink ingredients, then stir with a long spoon to get it all mixed and chilled. Strain through a small mesh strainer or use a slotted spoon to keep the ice in the shaker as you pour the cocktail.
- Gold Rush: Substitute honey syrup for the simple syrup: Combine ¼ cup water and ¼ cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until honey is dissolved . Remove from heat and cool. Garnish the cocktail with a lemon peel instead of the orange slice and maraschino cherry.
- Boston Sour: This version of the drink includes an egg white for silky body and foamy frothiness. If you want to try this, first give the ingredients a dry shake to emulsify them. Then, add ice to the shaker and give everything a second shake to chill the cocktail.
- New York Sour: After straining the cocktail into a rocks glass with ice, float 1 tablespoon full-bodied red wine on top .
- Amaretto Sour: Substitute 1 ½ ounces amaretto for the whiskey and top with lemon-lime soda if desired. Garnish with a cherry.
From Bourbons And Ryes To Flavored Whiskeys This Classic Can Be A Chameleon
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One of my favorite things about the classics is how infinitely they can be tailored to personal taste, says Eryn Reece, head bartender at Banzarbar in New York City. When it comes to the Whiskey Sour, there are a few ways you can make it your own: Egg white or no egg white? Cherry or no cherry? Up or on the rocks? And, most importantly, what type of whiskey?
From spicy rye to rounded, vanilla-forward bourbon, the type of whiskey you choose will completely change the flavor profile of the classic cocktail. Looking to tailor your Whiskey Sour according to your whiskey tastes? Look no further than this expert-approved list of the best whiskey brands for Whiskey Sours to get right now.
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