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London Sour
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...
Cass Lawson
30th June 2024 at 17:54
Trying to figure out why a 'London' sour would feature Whisky rather than Gin...
16th January at 10:54
I assume because it was made for the opening of the London branch of his restaurant chain.
12th April 2024 at 20:19
Very refreshing drink. I used Cara Cara Navel Orange which is less sweet than regular oranges. Agreed with other members regarding using Orgeat only.
30th April 2024 at 09:45
i disagree i think the orgeat overpowers and simon was right with the finnicky ratio
24th February 2024 at 07:41
One of my go-tos. I usually make it with something like Monkey Shoulder, but a variation with Wild Turkey Rare Breed, upping the orgeat, and a dash or two of Scrappy’s Fire Tincture really improved the booziness/complexity and could be my new favorite version.
12th February 2024 at 06:00
hate sours ? me too ! 15ml Orgeat .. no simple syrup. Delicious balanced tiki.
30th June 2023 at 22:43
Not the most complex drink in the world, but very good and eminently drinkable. I've also made a "Dublin Sour", obviously with Irish Whiskey, that was even less complex but equally more dangerous.
5th May 2023 at 22:49
Made one of these bit using Erick Castro's ratio. 2 ounces Scotch 3/4 ounce orange juice 3/4 ounce lemon juice 3/4 ounce orgeat. Absolutely delicious.
25th April 2023 at 06:46
This is a good drink. I was a bit dubious about orange and scotch- but it’s very good and refreshing. A real sunny afternoon drink.
30th June 2023 at 17:01
Orange juice and scotch is actually a surprisingly good combo if paired correctly. Another recipe that does it well in my opinion is the Space Monkey:
1.5 oz scotch
1 oz coconut water
.5 oz orange juice
.5 oz lime juice
.5 oz simple syrup
2 dashes angostura bitters
The original recipe doesn't call for lime but I like to add it in mine to keep it from getting too sweet. Another refreshing, afternoon long sour to enjoy in hotter months.
1.5 oz scotch
1 oz coconut water
.5 oz orange juice
.5 oz lime juice
.5 oz simple syrup
2 dashes angostura bitters
The original recipe doesn't call for lime but I like to add it in mine to keep it from getting too sweet. Another refreshing, afternoon long sour to enjoy in hotter months.
1st October 2022 at 19:36
You can’t really taste the orgeat syrup, haven’t tried but maybe replacing the sugar syrup with orgeat can get you there while keeping the sweetness around the same level.
17th December 2021 at 15:21
Simon - can you expand on your reasoning for frequently splitting your orgeat with plain simple syrup? It seems counterintuitive. I honestly can't taste the orgeat in such small quantities. Why not just have 10ml of orgeat since it's essentially flavoured simple? Seems unlikely to bully anything.
27th December 2023 at 03:19
haha i feel the same way, typical trade vic, no simple syrup on any orgeat cocktails for me, specially on my mai tais
17th December 2021 at 16:40
I was led by Trader Vic's original recipe which calls for orgeat and "rock candy syrup" (rich 2:1 sugar syrup). I've added his recipe above for reference.
13th November 2021 at 01:31
Didn't have any blended scotch whisky around, so used single malt. 12 year aberlour. Enjoyed it. Will try this with a blended to see what difference it makes!
21st September 2024 at 20:13
I used Finlaggan's old reserve and I found it a bit too characteristic for the cocktail..that was a peaty Islay though, I guess a Speyside or a blended would be more mellow and let other flavors come through better
8th September 2021 at 01:42
Like this exactly as written. Our oranges are always a bit sweet, but the drink was great. I could have left out the sugar syrup, but it is always dependent on the sweetness of the orange juice.
15th November 2020 at 20:36
Very nice - we juice our fruit whole which gives a bit of a bitter kick to it
9th November 2020 at 22:46
A gorgeous sweet, sour, and smokey with the addition of Irish whiskey. Next time, I'll follow Luca's suggestion and up the orgeat.
16th July 2020 at 18:27
Tried a London Sour tonight with my wife. We both liked it very much. I added a little bit extra orgeat syrup as I love that almond taste. Great for a warm summer evening! Thanks Simon for sharing.
7th January 2023 at 12:06
I concur with you, verbatim. There is an interesting malty beginning, then mostly orange juice with that almond backnote which is so appealing. Made it tall as per Difford's Guide's recipe.
16th July 2020 at 19:46
Indeed, thanks for sharing Luca.