Cocktails & serving · The home kitchen
Whiskey Sour
Fresh lemon brings a bright contrast to whiskey in this simple sour, with measured syrup rounding out the citrus. This original home preparation is a general version of the classic named on Beiruty’s drinks menu and does not claim to reproduce the bar’s recipe. It leaves out egg white for a clean, straightforward texture that needs only one shake. Bourbon gives a rounded result, while Irish whiskey creates a different, often lighter impression. Shake with plenty of ice and serve over fresh cubes so the finished drink stays cold without carrying the small melted fragments from the shaker.
A home-style recipe inspired by our menu. Restaurant preparation, portions and ingredients may differ.
Make it at home
Whiskey Sour recipe
- Serves
- 1
- Prep
- 7 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Rest / chill
- 5 min
- Total
- 12 min
Ingredients
- 60 ml bourbon or Irish whiskey
- 25 ml fresh lemon juice
- 20 ml simple syrup (1:1 sugar and water by weight)
- 200 g ice cubes, divided
- 1 thin lemon wheel, to garnish
- For homemade simple syrup: 20 g granulated sugar and 20 ml warm water (makes about 30 ml; measure only the syrup quantity listed above)
Method
If making the syrup, stir 20 g sugar into 20 ml warm water until completely dissolved. Cool for 5 minutes, then measure the quantity specified in the ingredients; reserve the unused syrup separately. Ready-made 1:1 simple syrup can be used instead.
Pour the whiskey, lemon juice and syrup into a cocktail shaker.
Add 125 g ice, close the shaker and shake firmly for 12–15 seconds.
Fill a rocks glass with the remaining 75 g fresh ice.
Strain the cocktail into the glass and garnish with the lemon wheel.
Make it your own.
- Taste the lemon juice before mixing; for very tart fruit, add another 2.5 ml syrup after the first shake.
- Fine-strain if you prefer to keep tiny ice chips out of the finished drink.