A Whiskey Sour in evening dress: rye shaken hard with lemon and simple syrup into a pale, citrusy base, then crowned with a slow float of dry red wine that bleeds a crimson sunset down through the glass. The wine's tannic, fruity edge tempers the sour's brightness while a few drops of egg white, if used, round the texture, so the drink sips as strikingly as it looks.
Garnish: Lemon Peel, Maraschino Cherry
Shaken · Rocks · On the Rocks
add
Combine the rye whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, and a few drops of egg white in a shaker with ice.
shake
Shake vigorously to chill and build a light froth from the egg white.
strain
Strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with fresh ice.
top
Slowly float the red wine over the back of a bar spoon so it layers across the top of the drink.
garnish
Garnish with a lemon (or orange) zest twist and a cherry.
The New York Sour sits in the sour family as a whiskey sour finished with a layer of claret or other red wine, and the record places it in the United States without naming who first mixed it or when. No inventor, bar or founding year can be documented, and the tale most often told about its beginnings has never been confirmed. It has since been adopted as an official IBA cocktail, whose specification allows rye or bourbon and suggests a Shiraz or Malbec for the float.