Whiskey Sour (Difford's recipe)

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (598 ratings)
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    Whiskey Sour (Difford's recipe)

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Whiskey Sour (Difford's recipe) image

Photographed in an UB Ginza Old Fashioned 10.5oz

Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon whiskey
1 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
2⁄3 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
3 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 drop Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water) optional
1⁄2 oz Egg white (pasteurised) or 3 dashes Fee Brothers Fee Foam cocktail foamer or Aquafaba or Vegan egg white alternative
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of skewered lemon slice wheel and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry (sail).
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN back into shaker.
  5. DRY SHAKE (without ice).
  6. FINE STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
  7. Garnish with skewered lemon slice and cherry (sail).

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

  • Egg white (pasteurised) - Eggs

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile
Cocktail of the day:

25th August 2025 is Whiskey Sour Day

Review:

Citrus sourness mellowed by a touch of sugar and invigorated by a blast of toasty bourbon whiskey.

Many assert a classic "Golden Ratio" for all sours, from the Daiquiri to the Whiskey Sour. This broad approach can produce cocktails roughly balanced to personal tastes, but each sour recipe should have its own nuance according to the base spirit used. For example, my go-to light white rum-based Daiquiri changes if I use a well-aged rum. In the case of a Whiskey Sour, I'm looking for the best balance using a wheat-forward straight bourbon whiskey with a 45% alc./vol.

The classic 8:3:4 sour proportions:
• 2 parts strong ingredient (60ml / 2oz whiskey)
• 3/4 part sour ingredient (22.5ml / ¾oz lemon juice)
• 1 part sweet ingredient (30ml / 1oz sugar syrup)
produce a cocktail that's sweet rather than sour, particularly if you are using a 2:1 rich sugar syrup, as in all Difford's Guide recipes.

For years, my own go-to Whiskey Sour recipe conformed to a 4:2:1 formula:
• 4 parts whiskey 60ml (2oz)
• 2 parts lemon juice 30ml (1oz)
• 1 part rich 2:1 sugar syrup 15ml (½oz)
This formula is for you if you like your Whiskey Sours on the sour side. [If making with a 1:1 simple syrup, then up the sugar to 22.5ml (Âľoz).]

In August 2023, ahead of Whiskey Sour Day, I experimented with other ratios such as 8:3:2 formula:
• 8 parts whiskey 60ml (2oz)
• 3 parts lemon juice 22.5ml (¾oz)
• 2 part rich 2:1 sugar syrup 15ml (½oz)
This is tasty and a little more whiskey-forward, but the sour element and lemon flavour are noticeably diminished. [If making with a 1:1 simple syrup, then up the sugar to 22.5ml (Âľoz).]

Eventually, I arrived at my new preferred 6:3:2 formula:
• 6 parts whiskey 60ml (2oz)
• 3 parts lemon juice 30ml (1oz)
• 2 part rich 2:1 sugar syrup 20ml (⅔oz)
[If making with a 1:1 simple syrup, you'd need to use 30ml, thus making this a simple and memorable 2:1:1 formula, the most common formula used in the USA where simple syrup is more popular than rich 2:1 syrup.]

View readers' comments

History:

Whiskey Sour cocktail history

Nutrition:

One serving of Whiskey Sour (Difford's recipe) contains 227 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 16% alc./vol. (16° proof)
  • 20.2 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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Manuela Rodrigues’ Avatar Manuela Rodrigues
5th June at 13:59
> [ Whiskey Sour *Classic Formula* ] link not working ,
https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2082/whiskey-sour-classic-formula

>> [ https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1133/sour-cocktails/ingredients ]
«With the above in mind, I offer you two formulas for a Whiskey Sour: my own preferred recipe and a Classic Formula. »
1
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
6th June at 05:58
The Classic Formula page no longer exists, so I have added this recipe to the https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1133/sour-cocktails/ingredients page.
1
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Nick Seleznev’s Avatar Nick Seleznev
10th May at 20:39
Try it with flavoured bourbons like jack apple and it's one of the tastiest drinks ever.
1
reply
Joseph Hillyard’s Avatar Joseph Hillyard
15th April at 01:45
My third comment on this site, and my second recommending maple syrup (dial it back) instead of simple syrup. A go-to drink for something not-too-serious but seriously tasty.
1
reply
Egg McKenzie’s Avatar Egg McKenzie
30th March at 18:45
i made the 6:3:2 version. very nice. it's not necessarily my favourite cocktail but i can't knock the recipe at all.
2
reply
Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
9th January at 12:04
We sometimes go with Rye on this. In which case we drop the sugar syrup down to 10ml, making it a 6:3:1 recipe.
0
reply
Alex’s Avatar Alex
3rd September 2024 at 16:36
Tried this with Gentleman Jack and with substituting the egg white with the Fee Brothers foam and it always works out well and produces a really enjoyable, foamy cocktail. Keep coming back to it if I fancy something different to my usual margaritas and martinis.
1
reply
moparmike19’s Avatar moparmike19
30th June 2024 at 00:38
My go-to recipe for Whiskey Sours. I get nothing but rave reviews every time I make them. I do adjust the sweetness as needed, but the deviation isn’t much. Other than that, no need to look anywhere else for a recipe.
4
reply
Avery Garnett’s Avatar Avery Garnett
6th April 2024 at 18:34
On my Hall of Fame quest, I did this to the letter - saline, bitters shaken in, 6:3:2 over a large rock - absolutely fantastic. I haven't bothered to even try to dial in my own twist on the (egg white) sour here, because this is perfection. A definite improvement over the Boston sour (with bitters on the foam and served straight up and at 8:3:2 as how I distinguished them), which falls a little flat. I did enjoy working out my own recipe for the best sans-egg white though :)
1
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Frederic D.’s Avatar Frederic D.
5th April 2024 at 23:12
Made mine with Yellowstone bourbon and a 4:1:1 ratio. Dropped the aqufaba/egg white (personal preference). It came out an excellent drink. I think the Whiskey Sour is one of those drinks that really lends itself to customization to fit one's tastes. I played around with the specs, but it's still recognizable as a Whiskey Sour, just adjusted to my taste.
2
reply
Jose Cruz’s Avatar Jose Cruz
15th March 2024 at 04:57
Replaced Simple syrup for Orgeat ... a even richer drink >:)
3
reply
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