Bourbon's warm, vanilla-edged sweetness meets bright lemon and a measured dose of sugar, shaken cold into a sour that sits squarely between tart and rich over a large cube. An optional egg white lends a silky cap of foam and a rounder, softer sip, while the cherry and orange wheel add a last sweet, fragrant note.
Garnish: Maraschino Cherry, Orange Wheel
Shaken · Rocks · Large Cube
add
Combine bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white (if using) in a shaker.
shake
If using egg white, dry-shake first without ice to build foam, then add ice and shake again until well chilled; otherwise shake hard with ice.
strain
Strain into a chilled rocks glass over a large cube (or serve straight up).
garnish
Garnish with a maraschino cherry and, optionally, a half orange slice.
No single inventor stands behind the Whiskey Sour. Jerry Thomas set down the broader sour formula of spirit, citrus and sugar in his Bar-Tender's Guide of 1862, and the whiskey version turns up by name in the Waukesha Plain Dealer by 1870. A rival legend hands the credit to an Englishman, Elliott Stubb, who is said to have mixed it in Iquique, Chile, in 1872. Today it holds a place on the IBA's official list and serves as the yardstick by which other sours are measured.