Whiskey Sour Variations

14 drinks · Updated October 2026

The Whiskey Sour combines whiskey, lemon juice and sugar, shaken with ice. It is a nineteenth-century sour, published in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 bartending book. This page lists the namesake drinks first, then close structural riffs. Alongside the Whiskey Sour, examples include Gold Rush and Penicillin. Honey replaces plain sugar in the Gold Rush; ginger and smoky Scotch distinguish the Penicillin from a straightforward whiskey sour. The useful comparison is the role of each ingredient: base spirit, sweetener, aromatic modifier or citrus, rather than the name alone.

The Whiskey Sour

• Whiskey Sour

  Classic (1860s)

  2 oz Bourbon 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.75 oz Simple syrup 1 Egg white

• Erik Adkins' Whiskey Sour

  Erik Adkins, Slanted Door Group, San Francisco (2017)

  2 oz Bourbon 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Simple syrup 0.5 oz Egg white

• Neal Bodenheimer's Whiskey Sour

  Neal Bodenheimer, Cure, New Orleans (2017)

  2 oz Bourbon 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.75 oz Simple syrup 1 Egg white 1 spray Angostura bitters

• Alicia Perry's Whiskey Sour

  Alicia Perry, San Diego (2024)

  1 oz Bourbon 1 oz Rye whiskey 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.75 oz Cane sugar syrup 1 Egg white

• Dan Sabo's Whiskey Sour

  Dan Sabo, Los Angeles (2017)

  2 oz Rye whiskey 1 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Orange juice 0.5 oz Rich simple syrup 1 Egg white

Riffs

• Maple Leaf

  Classic (printed in Frank Meier's The Artistry of Mixing Drinks, 1936)

  2 oz Bourbon 0.5 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Maple syrup

• Filibuster

  Erik Adkins, Slanted Door Group, San Francisco

  2 oz Rye whiskey 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Maple syrup 0.5 oz Egg white

• Reverend Palmer

  Don Lee, PDT, New York (2007)

  3 oz Black tea-infused bourbon 0.5 oz Lemon simple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters

• Hightower

  Ash Miyasaki, Bar Henry, Los Angeles (2020)

  2 oz Irish whiskey 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.75 oz Honey syrup (2:1)

• Castle Sour

  Jim McCourt, Prohibition, Charleston, South Carolina (2025)

  2 oz Irish whiskey 1 oz Lemon juice 0.75 oz Clove syrup 1 Egg white

• St Lawrence

  Michael Butt, Soulshakers, London (2001)

  2 oz Bourbon 0.75 oz Maple syrup 0.75 oz Lemon juice 1 tsp Rich simple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters

• 5th Street Finisher

  Speak of the Devil, Ohio (2017)

  2 oz Blended Scotch 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Honey syrup (3:1) 3 dashes Orange bitters

• Gold Rush

  T.J. Siegal, Milk & Honey, New York (early 2000s)

  2 oz Bourbon 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.75 oz Honey syrup

• Penicillin

  Sam Ross, Milk & Honey, New York (2005)

  2 oz Blended Scotch 0.75 oz Lemon juice 0.75 oz Honey-ginger syrup 0.25 oz Islay Scotch (float)