The Whiskey Sour

Sucking on a lemon can not be the most pleasant thing to do, neither is drinking straight lemon juice, but a well made "sour" can certainly tantalise the taste buds without making you screw up your face. The first and most famous of the sour cocktails in the whiskey sour. This cocktail is said to be created  by Elliot Stubb in 1872. Elliot Stubb was an Englishman who moved to Port Lquique (a port in North Chile) with the dream of settling and opening a bar. Has experimented with creating many different drinks and mixes, most of which contained lemons and limes which grew in large amounts throughout the area.  One day he mixed scotch whiskey, with lemon juice and a dash of sugar. Amazed with the delicious result, he made it the house specialty in his bar. He called it "The Whiskey Sour". Word spread fast about this drink amongst customers and soon the drink was being served in bars throughout the UK and the USA.  Many years later the idea of adding egg white was included in the recipe to add texture to the cocktail.

We start with a shaker, add 30ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice, followed by 15ml of sugar syrup.  The sugar syrup is used to slightly take the edge off the lemon juice but without making it sweet. Now add 1 egg white. This sometimes scares a lot of people when they see you cracking an egg over your shaker, but i reassure you, the egg white adds no flavour what so ever. However it does give the drink a great fluffy texture once shaken. It'll give your cocktail a nice white creamy head which makes the cocktail very smooth to drink. Lastly add 45ml (or 60ml, depending on how strong you like your drinks) of scotch whiskey. There is no specific type of scotch you need to use, just use your favourite. Something aged is often nice. I like to use Chivas Regal or Glenfiddich. These famous scotch's are both aged for at least 12 years in oak barrels. This gives the scotch and smokey finish. A common characteristic with these scotch's is honey, which adds sweetness to the spirit, making it a lot smoother to swallow.  Fill your shaker up with ice and shake as hard as you can. As mentioned earlier, the egg white in the drink gives it a great texture, but it needs to be shaken well. So don't hold back.  Once shaken, you can simply just pour your drink in to a glass and serve.

If you love your scotch, this cocktail can really tantalise the senses. Plus the egg white gives it a unique fluffy texture.  I always enjoy watching the reaction of people when i present them with this drink. Often customers don't know how to tackle it, but once they take that first sip they can't put it down until the glass is empty.

In a shaker:

30ml Lemon Juice

15ml Sugar Syrup

1 egg white

45ml (or 60ml) Scotch whiskey

Add Ice and Shake well

Pour into glass and serve