Relaxing with a Whisky Sour after a long day of work is one of my favourite boozy past-times. If you’re unfamiliar, think whisky shaken with lemon juice, sugar, and most of the time some egg white for texture and head. I’ve learned over the years that beyond the standard (first reported in the 1870s) there are several classic variations (eg. Boston Sour, New York Sour) and countless new ones being born in bars around the world every day. Vancouver’s variations are worth getting to know, so I’ve made a quick map for your responsibly crawling pleasure. If you don’t see your favourite listed below, let us know in the comments and we’ll do our damndest to try it!
Order: Four on Six Sour, $14 — Bourbon, Lillet, charred pineapple, yuzu shrub, Ardbeg, egg white
Order: Opium Sour, $13 — Wild Turkey bourbon, grapefruit, lemon, tamarind, poppyseed
Order: Bergamot Sour, $15 — Japanese whisky mist, Bergamot-infused amaretto, yuzu, lemon, togarashi, egg white.
Order: Very Good Sour, $12.50 — Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Ginger, Abricot du Roussillon Fernet Branca, lemon, egg white, cinnamon.
Order: Nuts About You – Bourbon, Aperol, almond syrup, egg white, lemon bitters.
Order: Forma Nova, $13 – Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon, Sherry, Dry Curacao, lemon juice, beet shrub, egg white.
Out of Town OPTIONS
Order: Cedar Sour — Cedar infused rye, lemon, thyme, egg white
Order: Cedar Sour – Cedar infused rye, Chartreuse, lemon, apple shrub, maple syrup, egg white, whisky bitters.
The Smoke Also Rises at Chambar – Havana 7yr rum, Abricot de Roussillon, lapsang souchong, lemon, egg white, amaro dell’Erborista .
A fine drink, but it’s a RUM sour, no?
Whiskey Sour IS a Whiskey Sour period. Anything else concocted is what ever the concoction is but it is not a Whiskey Sour. Sorry. Just old fashioned. You make a drink it is what it is. If you invent something better albeit similiar then give it it’s own identity.
It is like watching young bartenders attempt some of the old standards and they are anything but. Just sayen.
The Cedar Sour at Wolf in the Fog is awesome!