It’s like a Whiskey Sour, but vegan. Simple enough, right? And the good news is it tastes just as good as the OG recipe that uses egg white.
The first written record of the Whiskey Sour dates back to Jerry Thomas's 1862 book, The Bartender's Guide: How To Mix Drinks. It called for a teaspoon of white sugar dissolved in seltzer water, the juice of half a small lemon and a wine glass of bourbon or rye whiskey filled with shaved ice. Not too much has changed since, though the foundation for the Sour cocktail goes back even earlier to the mid-17th century, when the British navy asserted itself in the Caribbean. Part of the sailors’ rations was a daily dose of rum, which they mixed with lime juice to prevent scurvy – and voila! The sour was born, some 300 years before the word vegan even existed.
Like the other members of the Sour family – the Pisco Sour and Rum Sour, to name a couple – the Whiskey Sour is loved because it’s both simple and tasty. The perfect balance of sour and sweet, it’s as enjoyable at the start of the night as it is at the end. And a crucial part of the final product is, of course, the foamy texture usually provided by egg whites, much to the dismay of vegans everywhere. But now, thanks to the popularity of vegan diets and cocktails, the simple addition of a vegan foamer can make the Whiskey Sour accessible for everyone. What a time to be alive.
