Whiskey Sour
The whiskey sour gets a bad rap. To be honest, prior to creating the one you see in the picture, I’d only had one once… and that was the LAST one I ever planned on having. A friend bought it for me at a bar so I politely sipped until, Oh wait, someone’s calling me– hang on! *quickly places down drink & feigns sadness when it disappears a few minutes later* Don’t act like you’ve never been saved by a fake phone call.
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Most whiskey sours at your typical bar are going to be made with a whiskey sour mix. Y’all. Syrup-y mixes are rarely good. And if you’re the type who loves whiskey sour mix (no minimal judgment), I think you’ll enjoy a real whiskey sour ten times more. Fresh is always best. Change my mind.
One way that traditional whiskey sours are different from frat party whiskey sours is that the traditional version calls for an egg white. Truthfully, anytime I saw “egg white” as a cocktail ingredient, I kinda shuddered. I knew enough to know that they’re added to create foam and give drinks a silky texture… but the mental block was too great. Perhaps the apprehension stems from a childhood of banned raw cookie dough and a fear of Salmonella.
BUT I recently learned that only 1 in 20,000 eggs have Salmonella and that the average consumer will encounter 1 contaminated egg every 84 years. I’m not a big math person, but those numbers made me feel a lot more comfortable about using a raw egg white in a cocktail.
Plus, I also have my own backyard chickens so that puts me even more at ease. Although a healthy-looking chicken can still have Salmonella pop up in their eggs, it’s rare. But if you’re really freaked out by the possibility, just buy pasteurized egg whites in a carton. If you just need additional information before you can proceed, here’s a great article to read. Didn’t mean for that to rhyme but that was cool.
Here’s the little lady that made this classic cocktail possible. Internet, meet Helen. Helen, meet Internet. She’s a cochin (excuse her dirty feet feathers, but aren’t they adorable?) and is sweet as can be. She’s one of the more timid chickens my husband and I have had over the years but I absolutely love looking out the window and seeing her little cotton ball butt running across the yard.
If you’re starting to get serious about making cocktails at home, make this classic recipe and use a raw egg white. I double-dog dare you.
The Ingredients
- 2 oz whiskey (I used a corn whiskey because it’s 100% gluten-free but you can use whatever you like)
- 3/4 oz freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1 egg white – optional
- 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters – optional
How to Make a Whiskey Sour
If you’re not using an egg white, just add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. If you are feeling adventurous, or you already know you love an egg white in your drink, add all ingredients to your cocktail shaker WITHOUT ice. (This is called a “dry shake”.) Shake for 30-45 seconds. Then, add ice and shake for another 30-45 seconds. Your arm is going to be screaming but the more you shake, the better the egg white will incorporate into the drink and the more foam you’ll get. Strain into a coupe glass.
As the drink settles, the foam will rise to the top. Garnish with a few more dashes of bitters. Besides just looking fancy, they actually add to the aromatic experience of the drink.
