Whiskey Sour
“‘Amen’ says the Methodist, as he ordered another whisky sour”. The joke appeared in a Wisconsin newspaper in January 1870, according to Difford's Guide, suggesting the drink needed no introduction.[2] Its history stretches beyond the familiar foam-topped glass. At its heart are whiskey, lemon juice and sugar, shaken with ice; the International Bartenders Association (IBA) specifies bourbon and leaves egg white optional.[9]
Making a Whiskey Sour
Start with the IBA recipe: 45 ml bourbon, 25 ml fresh lemon juice and 20 ml sugar syrup, with a few drops of egg white if wanted.[9] It gives a clear, named specification to follow, rather than a claim to the only correct recipe.
The Sour family brings together spirit, citrus and sweetener, with ice supplying dilution. Difford's calls the underlying combination of spirit, water, sugar and citrus “basically a scaled-down punch”.[2] That makes water part of the drink, not an incidental consequence of chilling it. Shaking and ice belong to the recipe, not just its presentation. The cocktail guide explores the wider family.
Recipe card: the IBA Whiskey Sour
Source: International Bartenders Association, Whiskey Sour. This is an attributed recipe, not a site-tested one.[9]
Serves: one
Glass: cobbler glass, or an old fashioned glass filled with ice
Ice: ice for shaking; additional ice for an on-the-rocks serve
Origin: documented in print by 1870, before the 1872 Stubb invention story.[2][11]
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Bourbon whiskey | 45 ml (about 1.5 fl oz) |
| Fresh lemon juice | 25 ml (about 0.8 fl oz) |
| Sugar syrup | 20 ml (about 0.7 fl oz) |
| Egg white | A few drops, optional |
- Put the bourbon, lemon juice and sugar syrup into a shaker. Add the egg white if using it.
- Add ice and shake hard. The IBA specifies a harder shake when egg white is included.
- Strain into the cobbler glass, or into the ice-filled old fashioned glass.
- Garnish with half an orange slice and a maraschino cherry, or use orange zest.[9]
Measure the ingredients, keep water and food available and take breaks. At a tasting, spitting is normal and nobody needs to finish a glass.
Bourbon or rye?
Rye belongs here too. Although bourbon follows the IBA specification, Jerry Thomas's enlarged 1887 guide explicitly allows “Bourbon or rye whiskey”.[4] Choosing rye follows a historical recipe, not simply a modern bartender's variation.
For a first attempt, follow the specification above. To compare bourbon and rye, keep the lemon, syrup and method the same. Change the whiskey alone, and the comparison stays clear; change several ingredients at once, and it becomes a comparison of whole recipes.
Origin: story and record
The Sour family reached print before the Whiskey Sour appeared by name in the records covered here. Jerry Thomas's 1862 guide includes Brandy Sour, Gin Sour and, in a footnote, a Santa Cruz rum Sour. It contains no named Whiskey Sour.[1]
The often-repeated claim that Thomas published a Whiskey Sour in 1862 confuses the family with this particular drink. His Gin Sour instruction borrows from the Gin Fix, removing the fruit decoration except for a small piece of lemon whose juice is pressed into the glass.[1] The family resemblance is there; the whiskey recipe comes later in this printed trail.
The printed trail
| Date | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| 1862 | Thomas publishes brandy, gin and Santa Cruz rum Sours, but no named Whiskey Sour.[1] |
| 1870 | Difford's reports a Waukesha Plain Dealer joke mentioning “another whisky sour”.[2] |
| 1887 | Thomas's enlarged guide includes a Whiskey Sour made with bourbon or rye.[4] |
| 1888 | Theodore Proulx publishes two “Sour Whisky” recipes, including a pineapple version.[5] |
The unexplained newspaper reference suggests readers would recognise the drink. It documents a mention in 1870, but gives no account of who invented it, where or when.[2]
Thomas's 1887 recipe offers a more detailed picture of the glass itself. Powdered white sugar is dissolved in a little Seltzer or Apollinaris water, then joined by the juice of half a small lemon and whiskey. Shaved ice follows. The drink is shaken, strained into a claret glass and decorated with berries, without egg white.[4]
Story box: the steward and the earlier newspaper
| Field | Record |
|---|---|
| Founding claim | Difford's recounts the story that English ship's steward Elliott, also written Elliot, Stubb invented the Whiskey Sour in Iquique in 1872.[11] |
| Verdict | Verdict: Legend. The invention story is attributed to an account in El Comercio de Iquique.[11] |
| Documented record | Difford's reports an American newspaper mention dated 4 January 1870.[2] That earlier reference contradicts the claimed 1872 invention date.[2][11] |
| Earliest known source for the story | El Comercio de Iquique, as reported by Difford's; the account's publication date is not established in the supplied record.[11] |
| Claim-source mapping | Stubb, place, year and newspaper attribution: Difford's Pisco Sour history. Earlier mention: Difford's Sour history. |
| Sources and checking | Difford's Pisco Sour history and Sour history, checked in November 2026. |
| Last checked | Exact date not documented |
Egg white, wine and the glass
Egg white is optional, not a test of authenticity. Neither Thomas's 1887 recipe nor Proulx's 1888 versions includes it, and the modern IBA specification explicitly makes it optional.[4][5][9] The foam is a choice, not the drink's defining feature.
Difford's calls the egg-white version a Boston Sour. It also records Robert Vermeire's 1922 recommendation that a few drops of egg white improve Sours, illustrating the ingredient's place in the drink's published discussion.[7]
A red wine float takes the drink towards the New York Sour. Difford's traces an earlier claret-topped style to an 1883 Chicago bartender's account and records the older names Chicago Sour, Claret Snap and Continental Sour.[7] These belong to a related branch of the family; wine is not required for the basic Whiskey Sour.
The glass has changed along with the recipe. Thomas chose a claret glass in 1887; the IBA allows a cobbler glass or an ice-filled old fashioned glass.[4][9] Decide whether to serve the drink straight up or over ice, then choose the glass to suit. History offers several vessels, not one compulsory shape.
Where to go next
- Whisky Cocktails: The Complete Guide: place the Sour within the wider cocktail families.
- Old Fashioned: explore a different approach to whiskey and sweetness.
- Gold Rush: follow another whiskey sour-style drink.
Sources
[1] Internet Archive, Duke University Libraries copy. Jerry Thomas, The Bar-Tenders' Guide, 1862 edition. https://archive.org/stream/bartendersguide01thom/bartendersguide01thom_djvu.txt
[2] Difford's Guide. Sour cocktails: history, undated web article, checked November 2026. https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1133/sour-cocktails/history
[4] EUVS Vintage Cocktail Books. Jerry Thomas, The Bar-Tender's Guide, enlarged edition, copyright 1887, page 40. https://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/1887-The-bar-tender-s-guide/40/
[5] EUVS Vintage Cocktail Books. Theodore Proulx, Bartender's Manual, revised edition, 1888. https://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/1888-Bartender-s-Manual-by-Theodore-Proulx-Revised-Edition
[7] Difford's Guide. Whiskey Sour: history, styles and variations, undated web article, checked November 2026. https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1133/sour-cocktails/whiskey-sour
[9] International Bartenders Association. Whiskey Sour, undated recipe, checked November 2026. https://iba-world.com/iba-cocktail/whiskey-sour/
[11] Difford's Guide. Pisco Sour, undated web article, checked November 2026. https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1133/sour-cocktails/pisco-sour
This desk-researched article uses the site's verified fact sheet, distinguishing digitised historical recipes from historical references reported by trade sources.
Last checked: November 2026