New York Sour Recipe

This New York sour is a stunning variation on the classic whiskey sour cocktail. The smooth blend of whiskey, citrus, and sweetness gets an elevated twist with a splash of red wine, creating both a deeper flavor and a gorgeous layered presentation. Refreshing, balanced, and eye-catching, the New York sour is a must-try cocktail for any occasion.

One of the things I love about this cocktail is how versatile it is. You can use just about any spirit that falls under the “whiskey” umbrella to give your New York sour its own unique spin—scotch, bourbon, rye, or whiskey all work beautifully.

Want to learn the difference between whiskey, bourbon and scotch? Here’s my article explaining it all.

What really makes this cocktail stand out, though, is the addition of red wine. It not only gives the drink its striking layered look, but it also balances the boldness of the whiskey with a smooth, fruity depth. That combination is what makes the New York sour both distinctive and delightful.

The history of the New York sour recipe

The New York Sour cocktail first made its appearance in the late 1800s. It is a creative take on the classic whiskey sour.

But, in what city did it first appear? You’d be wrong if you said, “New York.” It was in Chicago.

It wasn’t always called the New York sour, but rather, the ‘continental sour’, ‘Brunswick sour’, or the ‘southern whiskey sour’. Chicago barkeeps started to refer to it as the ‘claret snap’ because of the added red wine.

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Helpful tips

• Some sours, especially whiskey sours have egg white in them. But I prefer it without. The only thing that the raw egg whites do is make it creamy and foamy. And truthfully, it really doesn’t need it. Try it like this first to see what you think.
• I usually like a more sour than sweet cocktail, but with this particular drink, I use equal parts sweet to sour.
• Use a bold red wine: I chose a cabernet sauvignon because of that fact, but any red wine would do. Malbec is a good choice, or even a good shiraz.
• You can use the back of a spoon to help the wine float, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Wine has a different density, so it will stay in layers. It might bleed down the sour but, that just makes it interesting and beautiful
• I always say to buy the best that you can afford. Where it isn’t as important is when you’re adding juices to the cocktail, like this one. But if you were making a Manhattan, you will definitely taste the difference between a mid-level brand and a budget brand.
• When I use any citrus, I wash it first (I use unscented liquid hand soap from Whole Foods and scrub it with a brush). This is doubly important when you are placing the rind IN the cocktail.
• For this cocktail, to make the lemon twist, I cut a thinnish slice of lemon, then take a sharp knife and cut a circle around the wheel as close to the pith as I can get. Remove the lemon flesh out of the wheel and save for later consumption. Cut a slice in the wheel, wrap the rind around a chopstick to make it curl, and garnish the cocktail.

How to make this New York sour recipe

Pre-step

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Get a measuring glass, two rocks or double old fashioned glasses and follow the directions above in the tips for two lemon twists.

After measuring out each ingredient, pour it into the cocktail shaker.

Step one

Gather the ingredients – bourbon whiskey, lemon, simple syrup, and wine.

Step two

Measure 4 ounces of bourbon. (A)

Step three

Squeeze 2 ounces of fresh lemon juice. (B) This is what I use to get the juice out of the lemon. I find that most of the lemons I use yield 2 ounces.

Step four

Measure 2 ounces simple syrup. (C)

Now, the fun part.

Step five

Fill two glasses with crushed ice.  Make sure the ice is heaping over the rim of the glass because when you pour the liquid of the shaker in the glasses, it will melt the ice.

Step six

Cap the shaker and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain, pour, and divide the liquid between the two glasses.

You will notice in the photo below, to accommodate the wine, I left roughly a half inch from the liquid to the top of the glass. You will also notice that the ice is still a little heaped at the top. That is perfect.

Feel free to add fresh ice if it doesn’t look like the photo below.

Step seven

Measure 1 ounce of wine for each cocktail. (D)

Step eight

Slowly pour the wine into the glass. You can pour it over the back of a bar spoon if you like but I don’t feel it needs it. Just make sure to pour the wine in slowly. You want a nice red wine float.

Add a lemon twist to each glass.

The wine will do its own thing – some of it sinks and some of it floats.

Yum.  So good!

I hope you enjoyed this New York sour cocktail recipe.

And as always, may all your dishes/drinks be delish!

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below.  I love hearing from you!  You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST  to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!

Originally published May of 2017.