Frequently asked questions
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. 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! 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. 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. 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.
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).
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- 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.
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.
