On whiskey sours
Feb. 26th, 2009 08:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseA friend of mine mentioned whiskey sours the other day, and it struck me that it was one of the "classic" cocktails I'd never tried making. So, being the good amateur bartender and mixologist that I am, I immediately set about researching how to make one. I'd had a vague idea (probably prompted by seeing boxes of whiskey sour mix in the store) that it was a some combination of any type of whiskey and sour mix, but I discovered there was actually a standard recipe as written by the International Bartenders Association. Much to my surprise, it even called for a specific type of whiskey (bourbon), as well as fresh lemon juice, neither of which I had on hand.
Just for kicks, I tried some of the blended Bushmills we had on hand with some sour mix and a maraschino cherry; it was firmly in the "okay" category but nothing to get excited about. It looked like I'd have to give the official recipe a try.
To its credit, bourbon is cheap - which is good, because it's honestly not something I drink often. It's rather harsh for my palate and it doesn't feature in many cocktails. (Although, come to think of it, it would make a fantastic pity-party drink - the harshness at the beginning as it burns down your throat balanced out by the comforting warmth in your stomach afterwards.) I purchased a bottle of one-level-above-super-cheap stuff (Jim Beam Black) and a couple of lemons, made some syrup, dumped out some crappy tequila we'd had around for a while so I could have the bottle for the syrup, and mixed up the drink.
I have to admit that my hopes were not high at this point. As stated above, I'm not a huge fan of bourbon, and the relative amount of lemon juice seemed fairly large. But I mixed it up anyway, tossed in a couple cherries, and gave it a sip.
Wow.
Considering the relative lack of subtlety of the base ingredients, it's a surprisingly complex flavor. The lemon juice helps tamp down the oversweetness of the bourbon, while the syrup balances out the harsh boozy flavor. What's left is the core of the flavor, the sour mash, brought to the fore by the lemon juice but kept from undrinkability by the syrup. Even Brian, who actively hates bourbon and isn't a huge fan of sour things, was surprised at how palatable it was.
It's not going to replace gin-based drinks as my favorite, I don't think, but it might show up occasionally on the rotation. Hooray for trying new things.
Just for kicks, I tried some of the blended Bushmills we had on hand with some sour mix and a maraschino cherry; it was firmly in the "okay" category but nothing to get excited about. It looked like I'd have to give the official recipe a try.
To its credit, bourbon is cheap - which is good, because it's honestly not something I drink often. It's rather harsh for my palate and it doesn't feature in many cocktails. (Although, come to think of it, it would make a fantastic pity-party drink - the harshness at the beginning as it burns down your throat balanced out by the comforting warmth in your stomach afterwards.) I purchased a bottle of one-level-above-super-cheap stuff (Jim Beam Black) and a couple of lemons, made some syrup, dumped out some crappy tequila we'd had around for a while so I could have the bottle for the syrup, and mixed up the drink.
I have to admit that my hopes were not high at this point. As stated above, I'm not a huge fan of bourbon, and the relative amount of lemon juice seemed fairly large. But I mixed it up anyway, tossed in a couple cherries, and gave it a sip.
Wow.
Considering the relative lack of subtlety of the base ingredients, it's a surprisingly complex flavor. The lemon juice helps tamp down the oversweetness of the bourbon, while the syrup balances out the harsh boozy flavor. What's left is the core of the flavor, the sour mash, brought to the fore by the lemon juice but kept from undrinkability by the syrup. Even Brian, who actively hates bourbon and isn't a huge fan of sour things, was surprised at how palatable it was.
It's not going to replace gin-based drinks as my favorite, I don't think, but it might show up occasionally on the rotation. Hooray for trying new things.
