Sour (Generic Name)

Difford's Guide

Serve in an

Old-fashioned glass

Garnish:

Lemon slice & Luxardo Maraschino cherry on stick (sail)

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass.

2 fl oz Brandy, whisk(e)y, gin, rum etc.
1 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/2 fl oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water, 65.0°Brix)
3 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
1/2 fl oz Pasteurised egg white or Aquafaba (chickpea water) or 3 dashes Fee Brothers Fee Foam cocktail foamer
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Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

Difford’s Guide to Cocktails Book 17th Edition image

Difford’s Guide to Cocktails Book 17th Edition

Perhaps the world's biggest cocktail book! Certainly, our biggest yet, 624 pages, 6cm (2.3inch) thick and weighing 2.25kg (5lb). Our Seventeenth Edition

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Easy Jigger image

Easy Jigger

The Easy Jigger® is a measure designed for use when making cocktails, primarily in the home but also by professional bartenders. It has a unique design

Buy it here

Hazardous ingredients

Pasteurised egg white is potentially hazardous to those with allergy or intolerance.

Review:

This 4:2:8 formula is a tad sourer than the classic 3:4:8 which translates as: three quarter part of the sour ingredient (lemon juice), one part of the sweet ingredient (sugar syrup) and two parts of the strong ingredient (spirit). So if you find my formula too sour than best follow the classic proportions in future.

History:

Sours are aptly named drinks. Their flavour comes from either lemon or lime juice, which is balanced with sugar.

Sours can be based on practically any spirit but the bourbon based Whiskey Sour is by far the most popular. Many (including us) believe this drink is only properly made when smoothed with a little egg white.

Sours are served either straight-up in a sour glass (rather like a small flute) or on the rocks in an old-fashioned glass. They are traditionally garnished with a cherry and an orange slice, or sometimes a lemon slice.

A detailed history of the Sours family of cocktails is available on our Sours cocktails page.

Nutrition:

One serving of Sour (Generic Name) contains 188 calories.

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 16.28% alc./vol. (32.56° proof)
  • 19.7 grams of pure alcohol
Difford's Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Difford’s Guide to Cocktails Book 17th Edition image

Difford’s Guide to Cocktails Book 17th Edition

Perhaps the world's biggest cocktail book! Certainly, our biggest yet, 624 pages, 6cm (2.3inch) thick and weighing 2.25kg (5lb). Our Seventeenth Edition

Buy it here
Easy Jigger image

Easy Jigger

The Easy Jigger® is a measure designed for use when making cocktails, primarily in the home but also by professional bartenders. It has a unique design

Buy it here
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