Drinks Spirited

Whiskey Sour, Properly Strained

Double-strained, no foam shortcuts. The classic 1862 recipe.

Time
8 min
Makes
1 cocktail
Difficulty
Medium
Glass
Coupe
Citrus Stirred Crowd
Whiskey Sour, Properly Strained

Method

1

Chill the coupe: fill with ice water while you make the drink.

2

Combine the bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bitters in a shaker. Fill with cubed ice.

3

Shake hard for 15 seconds. The shaker should frost over.

4

Double-strain: place a Hawthorne strainer on the shaker, and hold a fine-mesh strainer over the coupe. Pour through both.

5

Discard the ice water from the coupe. Garnish with a maraschino cherry on a pick.

From the kitchen

Double-strain, always. A single-strain leaves ice chips that dilute the drink in the glass.