Note: You will need equipment for this portion. If your deliveries have not yet arrived, you will want to wait until they do before proceeding.
The first drink we will be making is a sour. When people think of sours, they often think of a weird mix that comes out of a soda gun. Simply put, it is not. A sour is a combination of three things: something sweet, citrus juice* (lemon or lime), and a spirit. It's a huge category of cocktails that includes the daiquiri and margarita, to name a few. It is also the perfect place to start when learning how to build a drink vs follow a recipe.
Sours are delicious, and perfectly display the concept of bringing three flavors together. It also doesn't hurt that we can make a sour with just one bottle. Like learning chords when learning how to play guitar will enable you to play a bunch of songs (or even write your own), learning the sour will give you the ability to make a lot of different drinks and get creative right away. Think about it like this: learn the basics of drink making and you will not only be able to play covers, you will be able to write original songs as well.
*Citrus: While there are many citrus fruits, lemons and limes are what I am talking about when I refer to “citrus” throughout the blog. They are the most acidic and have a lower sugar content, so work well in combination with syrups and liqueurs used for mixed drinks.
A rule many bartenders follow is lemon for brown spirits and lime for clear spirits. There are exceptions to every rule, a lot of them in this case. However, this is helpful to keep in mind when starting out. I also like to start with lemon juice when making a more complex cocktail, no matter the color of the base spirit.
I know...we are still stuck in the kitchen. Don't say I didn't warn you! It's time for the empty 10oz seltzer bottles to come into play. Put a kettle or pot of water on to boil, and get the following items ready for use:
Hardware:
Dry Measuring Cups
Citrus Juicer
Cutting Board
Paring Knife
Mesh Strainer
Four Glasses
Funnel
Boston Shaker
Hawthorn Strainer
Ingredients:
Bourbon (spirit)
Lemons (citrus)
Granulated Sugar
Chai Tea
Honey
Granulated Sugar
Pomegranate Juice
JUICING
Cut the ends off of the lemons
Slice each lemon down its "equator"
Place your mesh strainer in the large tin from your Boston Shaker
Juice the lemons through the mesh strainer (you want to remove bits of pulp and seeds from your juice)
Use a funnel to fill one of the 10 oz. glass bottles
Label and date the bottle w/ masking tape
Store in fridge
*Citrus juice begins to lose its brightness the moment it is squeezed. That being said fresher is better, try to squeeze just enough juice for one day. Any longer than that, and your juice will go from acidic to bitter. Have I ever used citrus squeezed the night before? Yes. Don't judge.
SYRUPS
By now the water should be boiling, so it is time to make syrups. In a professional setting, many bartenders–including myself–will do all measurements by weight, as they tend to be more precise. However, in my home I measure by volume–I trade a little precision for free time. Syrups can last for up to a month when refrigerated, however I prefer to change them out every two weeks to play it safe.
Below are recipes for Simple, Demerara, Tea, Honey, and Grenadine syrups.
The first two–Simple Syrup and Demerara Syrup–are essentially made the same way, using the 1:1 ratio. For example: 2oz. of white sugar + 2oz. of water = simple syrup.
Simple Syrup
Simple Syrup goes with everything, and is used when you just want to add sweetness. Called simple for a reason, it’s super-easy to make. Plus, since it's made from refined sugar it only adds sweetness to a drink, not any additional flavors.
Recipe for Simple Syrup:
in a separate pot combine
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water from the kettle of hot water
Stir the two together over low heat until sugar has dissolved
Use a funnel to fill one of the 10 oz. glass bottles
Label and date the bottle w/ masking tape
Allow to cool on countertop (*if you put in hot, it can raise the temperature inside your fridge and worse, potentially break)
Store in fridge
Demerara Syrup (or light brown sugar syrup)
When using Demerara syrup, the easy place to start is to think "Brown Sugar with brown spirits.” Demerara sugar is not as refined as white sugar–it still contains molasses and has a rich robust flavor in comparison to refined sugar. I like to use these syrups with aged spirits like bourbon to add a little more character.
Recipe for Demerara Syrup:
Follow directions listed for simple syrup, but REPLACE white sugar with Demerara or Light Brown Sugar
Tea Syrup
Tea syrups are easy to make, fun to use and add complexity. They can be made from any tea on the market. Basically, you make a strong tea and use it instead of water to make a tea-flavored simple syrup.
Recipe for Tea Syrup:
(*below uses chai, but recipe will work with any tea of your choice)
Using 1 cup (dry measuring up) of boiling water, make a strong chai tea in a separate pot. Follow the steeping instruction on the box, just double the amount of tea/number of teabags. (I like to work with a strong tea because it will be diluted by citrus and liquor in a cocktail.)
Once tea is fully steeped, remove the tea bags / infuser
Add 1 cup of refined sugar
Stir the tea and sugar together over low heat until all the sugar has dissolved
Use your funnel and fill one of the glass bottles
Label and date the bottle w/ masking tape
Allow to cool on countertop (*if you put in hot, it can raise the temperature inside your fridge and worse, potentially break)
Store in fridge
Honey Syrup
A light color honey will be more versatile, as it can be used with any type of spirit, light or dark.
TIP: Honey is already (kind of) a liquid, but if you use straight honey it will not dissolve easily into your drinks. Instead, it will just form a glob that sits at the bottom of your tin. So it’s helpful to thin it out with a bit of water to make it more user friendly. We will make this in a 2:1 ratio (2 oz of honey + 1 oz of water = Honey Syrup)
Recipe for Honey Syrup:
Combine a 1/2 cup of honey and 1/4 cup of water; stir until water is integrated into honey. No need for heat
Use your funnel and fill one of the glass bottles
Label and date the bottle w/ masking tape
Store in fridge
TIP: Also use this method when working with Maple Syrup or Agave Syrup. It makes it easier to integrate the syrup. Plus, both Maple and Agave syrup are sweeter than a 1:1 Simple Syrup. Diluting them a bit will make it easier to switch out syrups while keeping your rations and ABV (alcohol by volume) similar when coming up with new recipes.
Grenadine
Grenadine can be used with any base spirit. Many store brands have cherries on the label, but “grenadine” is derived from the Spanish word meaning pomegranate. It can be made complex and deep, or simple and bright. Let’s start with a quick, simple and bright version.
Recipe for Grenadine:
Add 1 cup of pomegranate juice to a pot over low heat
Add 3/4 a cup of refined sugar*
Stir until the sugar has integrated
Use your funnel and fill one of the glass bottles
Label and date the bottle w/ masking tape
Allow to cool on countertop (*if you put in hot, it can raise the temperature inside your fridge and worse, potentially break)
Store in fridge
*You may have noticed that I used less sugar when making Grenadine. This is because pomegranate juice already contains sugar.
TIP: Use a microplane to add the zest of 1/8 of an orange and 1/4 a lemon. This will make the syrup a touch more complex and bright. Feel free to adjust the amount zest based on your flavor preferences. Don't forget to strain the zest out before bottling.
LET’S MAKE A DRINK!
Syrups are done! Easier than you thought, right? Now the good news: it’s time to make a drink! Actually four drinks, which will allow you to taste variations side-by-side. Don’t worry, this is the only time you’ll be making four drinks at once–hopefully you live with someone who can help make sure they don’t go to waste after the work is done.
Before we get going, here is a quick overview on how to shake a drink:
HOW TO SHAKE A DRINK
Note: Items in bold will remain consistent for shaken drinks. Going forward, I will just refer to this process simply as “shake and double strain.”
In the small tin of the Boston shaker combine:
2 oz. Spirit (Bourbon in this case)
1 oz. Citrus (Lemon in this case)
1 oz. Simple Syrup
Add enough ice to more than break the surface of the liquid inside. (I would usually say more is better with ice but we talked about ice being one of the most valuable items in a home bar.)
Fasten the small tin for the set into the top of the larger one and give it a good slap to make sure it’s sealed
Shake vigorously until cold, keeping one hand on each tin to ensure it stays sealed
Slap the side of the large tin in order to break the seal
Double strain; Use the Hawthorn strainer in the larger tin and pour through the mesh strainer into your glass
Things to Remember When Shaking a Drink:
Shaking with ice not only makes the drink cold, it should add about 1 oz. of water per
cocktail. The water added through shaking a drink is just as important as any of the other ingredients.
When shaking a cocktail you are not trying to destroy the ice; you are diluting the cocktail, making it cold, and integrating the flavors.
Cocktails that contain sugar, citrus, eggs or cream are usually shaken.
The smaller the size of the ice, the more ice you will use and the less time you will shake.
MAKING A SOUR
We’re going to start by making a sour–or more accurately, we’re going to make four sours. I tend to think visually, so I made the chart below to illustrate the approximate ratios. I say approximate because the chart is based on classic sour ratios and this is all about making drinks the way you like them, so you may end up with a variation.
Building off of the classic ratios, we will also make versions that taste more sweet, more tart, and more bold (flavor of liquor)–and you can decide which one you like best.
Approx 1/2 of the drink you are making will be liquor
Approx 1/4 will be citrus
Approx 1/4 will be sweet
Example: see Classic Sour below
Classic Sour
(Note: These are the same ratios used in classic cocktails like the Sidecar)
2 oz. Liquor (Bourbon)
1 oz. Sweet (Simple Syrup)
1 oz. Citrus (Lemon)
Sweet Sour
2 oz. Liquor (Bourbon)
1 oz. Sweet (Simple Syrup)
.75 0z. Citrus (Lemon)
Tart Sour
2 oz. Liquor (Bourbon)
.75 oz. Sweet (Simple Syrup)
1 0z. Citrus (Lemon)
Bold Sour
2 oz. Liquor (Bourbon)
.75 oz. Sweet (Simple Syrup)
.75 0z. Citrus (Lemon)
Notice that for all of the variations, the amount of liquor used stays the same while you adjust the amount of sweetener and citrus to achieve the desired flavor profile. The Bold Sour is where I usually start when working on a new sour recipe because it has the least amount of sweet and citrus in the build. Remember, you can always add more or an ingredient, but you can't take it out. Starting with the bold base allows me to incrementally add more of what I think the drink needs without starting over. Once you have your recipe down you won’t have to worry.
We have the syrups, equipment and ratios, so let's make some drinks!
Get out four glasses
Prepare each of the four sour variations detailed above in a separate glass. DO NOT yet add ice or shake them
Prep the ice you will need to make four separate drinks
Now dump the contents of the first glass into your shaker, add ice shake and strain back into glass.
Continue the process in quick succession with each of the remaining drinks. Make sure not to confuse which drink is which; perhaps use a note card, or even the masking tape, to mark which is which
Start by tasting the Classic Sour this will be your base line. You will also use the Classic Sour to cleanse your palate before trying each of the other sours
Next taste the Sweet Sour. Compare the two: Which did you prefer? Why?
Take another sip of the Classic Sour to reset your palate
Repeat the same process to taste the Tart Sour and Bold Sour. As you taste, be sure to think about which you like best and what you like about it. Remember to reset your palate with the Classic Sour between each taste
It’s OK if it takes a few rounds of testing and elimination to determine your favorite. It’s also OK if you like more than one. The point is to learn your palate and the components that create each flavor profile
Write your preferred sour recipe in your cocktail recipe notebook
Feel free to copy the syrup recipes into the back of your recipe notebook
Congratulations, you have started to develop your own home bar philosophy! Not only do you know how to make your perfect drink, you know how easy it is to vary the recipe to suit someone else’s taste. You’re starting to learn the chords. For the rest of the week, practice your technique by making the sour to your liking. Get used to your new tools and become more comfortable making drinks–shaking, measuring, etc.–practice makes perfect. Plus, you just made a bunch of different syrups, and it’d be a shame for them to go to waste. Have some fun and experiment by using the different syrups to create variations of the sour. Remember, your goal is not just to make drinks, it's to develop your palate and your drink-making technique.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
When you change the syrup, do you need to adjust your recipe? For example when using the honey syrup do you think it needs more or less sweetener, or is the recipe you wrote down still perfect? If you need to change the recipe to accommodate a new sweetener, write that down in your notebook.
Look up the Gold Rush cocktail. It’s essentially a sour, but do you notice the change in proportions? Try making a Gold Rush–you will be using a Bourbon Whisky instead of a Rye Whisky but you will get the general idea. What do you think?
Perhaps you already have some maple syrup at home; try making a sour with that.
A lot of people enjoy a sour made with egg whites. We will talk about using egg whites in cocktails later in the program.
As a reminder, when it comes to citrus, many bartenders will use lemon with brown spirits like whisk(e)y and cognac, and lime with clear spirits like vodka and gin. But there is no rule that cannot be broken. Many people prefer to drink their gin with lemon. However, the standard rule is a good place to start. Get to know the spirits and citrus, then make a conscious decision to go off script once you have a solid sense of your palate and how each impacts a drink’s flavor.
TIP: I keep all of my sugar in large plastic bags, and store those bags in a sealed plastic container (pictured below). I find this helps to prevent spills and makes it easier to stay organized and on top of items I need to replace.
THINGS TO BUY FOR NEXT WEEK:
At least 4 Lemons
More Sugar (if needed)
Cinnamon Sticks
Fresh Ginger (hearty amount)
Toasted Almonds (unsalted; smallest pieces possible)