On whiskey sours

[missroserose]

A 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.

Comments

[errant-variable.livejournal.com]

The whiskey sour, like the mint julep, appears to be one of the core facets of Deep South [drinking] culture, and like many other things out of that coalition of states is something that the uninitiated looks at and recoils from in fear or even disgust. But once one has found the courage and resolve to enter, head high and season-appropriate suit neatly pressed, one finds that somehow, against logic, it works.

/Yankee journalist

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

So, I need to find myself an antebellum ball gown before making whiskey sours again? :)

[errant-variable.livejournal.com]

A proper lady never makes her own whisky sours, miss.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

So, saloon-girl outfit, then. Gotcha. ;)

[moonwick.livejournal.com]

Wow, you *like* gin!? We keep a token bottle of Tanqueray around for long island iced teas, and that's all we ever use it for.

Something about that pine-needle taste just doesn't agree with me; I'm not picky about taste, but gin is one of the few things I can't stand. :)

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

One of these days I need to try making a Long Island Iced Tea. I think it's a combination of never having been brave enough and never having had all the ingredients on hand...

I started out disliking gin myself, but somewhere in the past couple years I've acquired a taste for it. Definitely not something to pour neat, but I find gin and tonics with lime to be quite refreshing. Greyhounds (gin with grapefruit juice, according to my manual, although I've gotten into arguments with bartenders about whether it's supposed to be gin or vodka) are my other favorite, especially with Tanqueray and 100% grapefruit juice. The flavors mesh surprisingly well.

[gracewanderer.livejournal.com]

I'll have to try a greyhound. Don't normally like gin either.

I'm on your side - they're made with gin. A lot of drinks made with gin get co-opted by vodka because most people don't like gin. Stupid bartenders learn them the popular (instead of correct) way, and then they argue with you.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

Normally that wouldn't even bug me so much, except in a greyhound it's the combination of the flavors of gin and grapefruit juice that's the whole point - they're quite good together. (Good) Vodka doesn't taste like anything, so vodka and grapefruit juice just tastes like...grapefruit juice, and not like a greyhound at all.

bourbon

[(Anonymous)]

Even Williams is good and cheap bourbon. Try it out.
Philip
Http://humesfork.net