Whiskey Sour

The Whiskey Sour is a drink I didn't try for a long time. Not for any good reason, but because I thought it was a girly drink. (Says something about the girls I typically drink with). But I picked up some egg whites, and to me, the whiskey sour is a good drink to add them to. So I tried it, and it tasted pretty good! The lemon transforms the whiskey into a much more refreshing drink, great for summertime. It's not something I drink a lot, but I've experimented with it a bit since then, and found that I really like using Meyer lemons instead of normal lemons for a little extra sweetness. If you only have normal lemons, just add a bit more simple syrup. Without the syrup, it's quite sour. The egg whites give it a smoother mouthfeel, which is a nice counter-balance to the tartness of the lemon, but they aren't actually essential to the flavor. Recipe after the jump.

Scorpion

Juice of half a lime (1/2 oz lemon juice)
1.5 oz orange juice
.25 oz triple sec (Cointreau. For the love of all that is holy, please don't use generic triple sec.)
.75 oz brandy (Remy Martin VSOP)
.75 oz white rum (Flor de Cana)
1 oz dark rum (Kraken)

I could have sworn I had lime juice when I decided to make this drink. Ah well. I'm probably less hesitant than I should be to throw in lemon juice instead of lime juice. They're not really the same thing. But the drink turned out okay after all, with a surprising amount of complexity. Sure, it would be better with lime juice. And maybe I put in too much Cointreau. But it's quite smooth, with the sweetness of the liquors balancing well with the tartness of the juices. I added some peach bitters, which worked well, though they definitely tip things towards the sweet end of the spectrum.

Note: This drink, and most of the drinks that come from recipes on this blog, is from American Bar, by Charles Schumann.