Garnish:
Orange slice & mint sprig
How to make:
SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass.
2 fl oz | Blended Scotch whisky |
2 1/2 fl oz | Orange juice (freshly squeezed) |
1/2 fl oz | Lemon juice (freshly squeezed) |
1/6 fl oz | Giffard Orgeat Syrup |
1/6 fl oz | Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water, 65.0°Brix) |
Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

Hazardous ingredients
Giffard Orgeat Syrup is potentially hazardous to those with allergy or intolerance.
Review:
Our thanks to Brent Evans for pointing us towards this tasty cocktail which he describes as "Scotch whisky blended with fresh oranges, lemons and a whisper of almond." We tried with egg white, usually our preference in a sour, but prefer this one without the resulting foam. We also found upping the orange juice and serving long preferable.
History:
Adapted from a recipe created by Trader Vic himself for the opening of the Hyde Park Hilton, London branch of his eponymous restaurant chain in 1963. This cocktail features in his 1972 Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide.
London Sour
Victor J. Bergeron, 1972
½ Orange
½ Lemon
1 dash rock candy syrup
1 dash orgeat
2 ounces scotch
Squeeze orange juice into 10-ounce double old fashioned glass over half scoop shaved ice; save orange shell. Squeeze lemon juice into glass; drop in spent shell. Add syrup, orgeat, and scotch. Add shaved ice to fill glass ¾ full. Shake. Decorate with fresh mint and with American and British flag sticks on orange shell.
Nutrition:
One serving of London Sour contains 176 calories.
Alcohol content:
- 1.4 standard drinks
- 12.1% alc./vol. (24.2° proof)
- 19.4 grams of pure alcohol
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