If we know anything about cocktails, it’s that: 1) there are hundreds of them, mostly variations on a handful of themes; 2) no two bartenders make the same cocktail in the same way; and 3) cocktails are subject to the same vagaries of fashion as any other high-street commodity.
Consider the Negroni – as popular as Roger Moore in a safari suit in the 1970s, before falling into obscurity a decade or so later, only to bounce back with Lindsay-Lohan-level resilience to become the top-tier cocktail it is today.
Strong, sweet and sour
As a cocktail grouping, Sours are high on the bar hierarchy, though fairly low in terms of their public profile. Closely related to classic punch formulations – base spirit mixed with water (or ice), sugar and citrus – they are generally outshone by their flashier siblings: the Collinses, Coolers, Cobblers and Daisies.
In common with so many other cocktail origins stories, the evolution of the Sour can be traced back to the British Navy’s links with the Caribbean. In an attempt to establish some kind of vitamin regime, sailors’ rum rations were often infused with lime to make a grog or punch – habits that were imported back to Britain and perpetuated in the punch houses of the 1600s.
The term ‘Sour’ is a pretty broad one in practice. The spirit – often gin, tequila, rum or whiskey – can be balanced with sugar in almost any form – cane, agave, honey etc – and sharpened with fresh lemon or lime juice. Strictly speaking, they don’t even have to have a sour flavour profile; depending on the ratio, the Sour can be made sweeter or more spirit-forward to suit.
The American cocktail
It’s difficult to know precisely when Sours started to be served in their own right, but variations certainly appear in Jerry Thomas’s seminal ‘Bartender’s Guide’ in the mid-nineteenth century, around the time when ‘short’ drinks became all the rage.
Interestingly, although Sours were likely originally served in a regular bar glass, a special deep-footed Sours glass became the drinking vessel du jour for a while. These days, Sours are usually served over ice in an Old-Fashioned glass.
Sours are often seen as the most American of cocktails, especially the Whiskey Sour which is made with bourbon or rye for preference. The availability of shelf-stable ‘sour mixes’ in the US in the mid-twentieth century also boosted the US uptake of Sour-inspired cocktails like the Margarita and Daiquiri, especially their frozen incarnations. This lazily constructed cocktail became the (sub) standard offering at many bars for too long.
The recent return to using fresh, high-quality ingredients has revived the Sour’s reputation as a top-notch bar cocktail. Indeed, due to the simplicity of its components, making a good Sour is often seen as a test of a bartender’s skills.
Top tier Sours
The most recognisable example of its kind is the Whiskey Sour. The classic ratio combines 2 parts spirit with 1 part citrus and 1 part sweet, but if you like the sour taste more prominent, you can tinker with the quantities. A traditional Whiskey sour would be shaken with egg white to create a foamy top – an addition that’s become less common in recent years.
Our favourite – and also very much a child of the seventies – the Amaretto Sour was originally introduced to the unsuspecting hoards by distiller Disaronno as part of a new wave of Italian spirits and liqueurs. The classic sweet and sour flavour profile makes it an enduring favourite that has an assured place on most bar menus.
We make ours with with Luxardo Amaretto*, fresh lemon juice and cane sugar. Simple, brilliant and timeless (unlike Roger’s ill-fated safari suit).
*This remarkable Italian liqueur doesn’t actually contain almonds, instead infusing apricot kernel oil with spirit, burnt sugar and aromatics to create an almond-like flavour profile.
