Whiskey Sour Cocktail Recipe (with Easy Step-by-Step Video)

In 2020, the pandemic known as COVID-19 struck, and bars around the world had to close their doors. If there was one thing I missed during that time, among many things, it was walking up to the bar and asking the barman for my favorite cocktail ever, the whiskey sour. So, I had to learn how to make it at home. 🥃

Oh, and before we continue, one more note: please use an egg white for this because it’ll give you that rich, frosty texture. Using an egg white in your cocktail is not as dangerous as it sounds, and if you want an authentic whiskey, sour, this is the only way to do it. More on that below.

Alright, enough talk; here’s the recipe.

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Whiskey Sour Recipe

Recipe by Julian Solorzano

5.0 from 1 vote

The Whiskey Sour is a perfectly balanced cocktail that combines the warmth of bourbon with bright citrus and a silky egg white foam. It’s a classic that dates back to the 1860s and remains a benchmark for any serious home bartender.

Course: Coupe Glass, Rocks (Old-Fashioned) GlassCuisine: Classic cocktailDifficulty: Intermediate

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Servings

1

servings

Calories

300

kcal

Total time

4

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 oz Bourbon

• 1 oz Lemon juice

• .75 oz Simple syrup

• 1 Egg white

• 2 Dash(es) Orange Bitters or Angostura bitters

• 1 Orange peel and maraschino cherry for garnish (optional)

• Ice (large cubes for shaking)

Directions

• Add the lemon juice and simple syrup in your shaker tin. Then add the egg white (be careful not to spill any yolk or shell into the tin). Finally, add your bourbon.
• Tightly seal the top and bottom of the tin and begin to shake. Remember, this shake should have no ice at this point. Hold on to the bottom and the top so the tin doesn’t come apart and the cocktail goes flying everywhere.
• Shake for 15-20 seconds.
• Carefully open the shaker tin back up and add one large ice block to the shaker tin full of the rest of the ingredients.
• Shake again once you have a tight seal. This time when you shake you will feel the tin begin to get very cold. This is good. Endure the cold for the full 30 second shake.
• Carefully open the shaker again. This time you should notice a lot of white suds and foam. Perfect. 
• Place your Hawthorne strainer over in the shaker tin and hover the tin over the glass you’re going to drink from (hopefully you have a coupe glass but if not any rocks glass will work.)  
• With the Hawthorne strainer still attached to the tin, pour it into the glass through the fine mesh strainer, too. The double strain will create the layer of foam that we seek. You will see your whiskey sour come to life in front of you. 
• Add some dashes of orange or Angostura bitters to the foam layer of your cocktail. You can now rim the glass with an orange coin and add a garnish if you would like.
• You’re done! Enjoy your whiskey sour.

Equipment

• A Bar Above Antique Boston Shaker (Gold)Buy this shaker
• A Bar Above Gold Japanese JiggerBuy this jigger here
• A Bar Above Gold Hawthorne StrainerBuy it here
• A Bar Above Gold Fine Mesh StrainerBuy it here
• A Bar Above Stainless Steel Citrus Juicer (Gold)A Bar Above Stainless Steel Citrus Juicer (Gold)
• Viski Angled Stemmed Crystal Coupe GlassBuy this glass here
• A Bar Above Channel Knife Stainless (Gold)Buy this carver here
• Gold Bird Stainless Steel Cocktail PicksBuy these picks here
• Luxardo The Original Maraschino CherriesBuy this garnish here

Recipe Video

Notes

• Store simple syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• To add a little more delicious subtle flavor, I ALWAYS add a couple of slightly toasted cinnamon sticks to my simple syrup while it cools down. I absolutely love the subtle cinnamony smokiness to the whisky sour and so do all of my guests. Try it out and let me know what you think.  
• Using fresh eggs at room temperature will give you the best foam.
• For a vegan version, substitute 1oz aquafaba (chickpea liquid) for egg white.

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Making a whiskey sour used to intimidate the hell out of me. But after countless experiments (and yes, a few disasters), I’ve cracked the code to this classic bourbon beauty.

The first recipe I learned regarding making the whiskey sour called for 2 oz of whiskey (bourbon or rye) and equal parts simple syrup and lemon juice (.75 oz).

After making it the first few times I realized I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth and preferred the taste of the sour that comes from the lemon. So I upped the dose of the lemon juice and minimized the simple syrup, which also led to less of a hangover the next day. 

The Best Ingredients for a Whiskey Sour:

• Bourbon: Buffalo Trace is my go-to for its balanced flavor and reasonable price point. For a premium experience, try Four Roses Single Barrel or Woodford Reserve. If you’re mixing for a crowd, Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond offers amazing value.
• Citrus: Always use fresh lemons. Period. Those bright yellow bottles of sour mix? Leave them on the shelf where they belong.
• Simple Syrup: Making your own is non-negotiable. Equal parts sugar and water, heated until clear.

What You Need to Make a Whiskey Sour From Home

Okay for the tools you’re going to need to make a whiskey sour are as follows: a cocktail shaker, a Hawthorne Strainer, and a fine-mesh strainer. 

Please do not buy the pre-made sour mix from the store. You will always get this artificial flavor profile and will almost certainly lead you to a nasty hangover and an upset stomach the next day. Just squeeze your own fresh lemon juice (two lemons if you’re making just one or two) and make your own simple syrup.

Simple syrup is made by boiling 1 cup of water and adding 1 cup of sugar (That wasn’t a typo, one full of sugar for an equal cup of water). It doesn’t have to boil intensely, just a slight boil to dissolve the sugar. Make sure that you continuously stir until the sugar completely dissolves.

If you stop stirring for some time, you run the risk of the sugar caramelizing to the bottom of the pot. When the sugar has completely dissolved, turn off the stovetop and cool down your simple syrup by putting it in the fridge or the freezer.

Adding Egg Whites to Your Drink?

Some people are a little trepidatious about adding egg whites to their cocktail for fear of getting sick. There is no need to worry. You emulsify the egg and any bad properties it could potentially have when you do the dry shake with egg white, lemon juice, and bourbon. There is no way of getting sick from the actual egg white itself afterward!

If you are vegan, you can use aquafaba as a substitute. I strongly urge you to include either of these two because it is the only way to add the delicious foam layer to the top of your whiskey sour cocktail. And trust me, you want the foam layer. 

If you’re a history buff like me and want to know more about the history of the whiskey sour, click here.

Final thoughts

Well, that’s it. See it wasn’t so hard. Was our recipe too sour and not sugary enough? Feel free to experiment with the doses to see what works for you.

The whiskey sour will always hold a special place in my heart and is arguably the seed that eventually blossomed into the idea to create Crimson Cocktail in the first place. Let me know what you think about the whiskey sour in the comments down below. Cheers!