New York Sour

The New York Sour is a layered, lovely cocktail that is easy to shake together, tastes delicious, and looks like a million bucks. It has a deep crimson float of dry red wine on top, but at it's base this drink is a riff on a traditional whiskey sour.

Whiskey Sour

The family of cocktails called sours normally consists of a spirit + citrus + sweetener. Many times egg white is added to smooth out the combo of liquor and citrus juice, plus it adds a velvety mouthfeel to the drink.

Here, the base spirit is whiskey. Combine that with fresh lemon juice (fresh is always best!) and a viscous sweetener. Best options for a sweetener are simple syrup, pure maple syrup, or agave.

And the egg white? Again, fresh is best. Crack a fresh egg and carefully separate the white from the yolk (reserve the yolk for another use). Fresh egg white has proteins that when shaken billow into a white foamy head. Egg whites in a carton are normally pasteurized and might not yield the same result.

Lessons Learned

• The red wine float looks fancy but isn't too hard. Pour the wine over the back of a spoon onto the cocktail. The overturned spoon helps it distribute evenly. Even if you mess it up, the drinkie still tastes great.
• Use any dry red wine that you like. Traditionally, it's Cabernet Sauvignon but I've seen Merlot and Syrah used as well.
• Does using a raw egg white give you the ick? You can leave it out altogether or sub in an equal amount of aquafaba (the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans) instead. Doing this also makes the cocktail vegan.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Liquor.com for the New York Sour recipe.

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