The Whiskey Sour Day Celebrated With A New York Sour

The Whiskey Sour Day on August 25 each year is a perfect time to try this 19th century classic. Make it with bourbon or whiskey or try New York Sour by adding a Claret float.

THE WHISKEY SOUR
The first time the word sour was used in regards to a drink was in 1856 on a bar menu at Mart Ackermann’s Saloon in Toronto, Canada. In print the sour, brandy and gin, appears for the first time in 1862 in The Bartender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas. Eight years later, the Whiskey Sour makes the stage in Waukesha Plain Dealer, a Wisconsin newspaper. In 1883 the drink had already developed and many bartenders started adding a Claret float, to the drink. Apparently the word Claret was used a bit loosely at the time and didn’t necessarily mean a red wine from Bordeaux. This version came by many names but the bartending world finally settled on New York Sour.

The Whiskey Sour is traditionally made with whiskey, lemon juice, sugar and egg white, an ingredient that will smooth the tartness of the lemon juice and give the drink a frothy topping. The egg white was probably added in the early 1900s. Today the egg white is optional and you often find bars serving the Whiskey Sour without it.

THE DESIGNER
The glass, called Dondolino, was designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito in 2016 and is painted using a technique with Japanese lacquer called Urushi.

December 18 – Whiskey Sour

This is an old one. It was first published in The Bartender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas in 1862 but the concept of the sour was known and loved for over a century prior to that. During the 18th Century sea travel, especially from Europe to America, was an ordeal with malnutrition and scurvy taking its toll on the sailors. Thanks to Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon, The British Royal Navy started to mix lemon or lime with rum and water to stave off scurvy and so the sour was born, one of the oldest types of cocktails. From there it was only a matter of time before someone started to make a sour with American whiskey and made it what it is today.

The Whiskey Sour is traditionally made with whiskey, lemon juice, sugar and egg white, an ingredient that will smooth out the tartness of the lemon juice. Today the egg white is optional and you often find bars serving the Whiskey Sour without it.

On a side note, calling a spirit diluted with water a grog is also because of Vice-Admiral Vernon. He was known for wearing grogram coats giving him the nickname ”Old Grog”.

The glass called Dondolino was designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito in 2016 and is painted using a technique with Japanese lacquer called Urushi, generally applied on wood.

Happy National Whiskey Sour Day

As everything important in life, the Whiskey Sour has its own celebration. At least in the US where today, August 25, is National Whiskey Sour Day.

This is an old one. It was first published in The Bartender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas in 1862 but the concept of the sour was known and loved for over a century prior to that. During the 18th Century sea travel, especially from Europe to America, was an ordeal with malnutrition and scurvy taking its toll on the sailors. Thanks to Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon, The British Royal Navy started to mix lemon or lime with rum and water to stave off scurvy and so the sour was born, one of the oldest types of cocktails. From there it was only a matter of time before someone started to make a sour with American whiskey and made it what it is today.

The Whiskey Sour is traditionally made with whiskey, lemon juice, sugar and egg white, an ingredient that will smooth out the tartness of the lemon juice. Today the egg white is optional and you often find bars serving the Whiskey Sour without it.

On a side note, calling a spirit diluted with water a grog is also because of Vice-Admiral Vernon. He was known for wearing grogram coats giving him the nickname ”Old Grog”.

The glass called Dondolino was designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito in 2016 and is painted using a technique with Japanese lacquer called Urushi, generally applied on wood.

Whiskey Sour

2 parts Whiskey

1 part Lemon juice

1/2 part Sugar syrup

1/2 Egg white

3–4 drops Angustura bitters

Shake Whiskey, lemon juice, sugar syrup and egg white without ice (dry shake). Add ice and shake again. Strain into glass and add three to four drops of Angustura bitters. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

Enjoy!