Say Good-Bye to Winter (finally!) with a Whiskey Sour

Made with the freshest lemon juice, a Whiskey Sour may become your go-to cocktail next time you’re at the bar.

What a long winter. Time to shed this malaise that’s been hanging over us like a damp wool overcoat and toast winter’s overdue farewell with a bright dash of sweet and pucker called the Whiskey Sour. Just smelling the whiskey hit the lemon juice brings back memories of our parents mixing them for friends to grand acclaim back in the seventies. Aah, that golden aroma. Making Whiskey Sours now transports us back to our families’ basement bars. For Paul, one plushly swaddled in hi-lo rust-yellow-orange shag, edged in caramel Naugahyde; for Steve, one evoking the Wild West, fashioned with reclaimed Civil War–era wood.

We’ve been perfecting our Whiskey Sour recipe for what seems like years. Some seasons we like them more sour than sweet, like in the deep of winter when all you crave is the scurvy-fighting power of citrus; then sometimes in the summer, you just want a hint more sugar to balance with whatever food you happen to be nibbling on, such as Lamb Meatballs. Whiskey Sours also pair swimmingly well with Spiced Nuts.

This is the recipe we prefer today. So raise your glass high with a colleague after work, a friend who applauds your penchant for mixed drinks, or a loved one who is raring to celebrate the arrival of flowers shooting up from the frost-free ground. Discuss more childhood basement tales. Bottoms up!

Whiskey Sour
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz from a traditional recipe)

Ingredients
2 ounces bourbon or rye (we like a higher proof, between 90 and 100)
3/4 ounces simple syrup
3/4 ounces lemon juice
maraschino cherry and/or orange slice, as garnish (optional)

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled glass. Add cherry and orange slice, if you so desire.