New York Sour co*cktail | Dishes Delish (2024)

This New York sour recipe is a fruity twist on the classic whiskey sour co*cktail. The addition of red wine deepens the beautiful flavors and adds a stunning layered effect to this refreshing co*cktail, making it a must-try this season!

One reason this co*cktail is so fun is that you can make it with any number of spirits we call whiskey to give your New York Sour a slightly different spin. You could use, scotch, whiskey, bourbon, and rye whiskey.

When I first blogged about this drink, I used scotch.But when I decided to redo the recipe and update the photos, I knew I wanted to go traditionally and use bourbon.

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

What also intrigued me about this co*cktail is that it combines wine with hard liquor. The wine is what makes this co*cktail so pretty; and the way it balances the other ingredients makes this New York sour co*cktail unique and delightful!

The history of the New York sour recipe

Apparently, the New York Sour co*cktail first made its appearance in the late 1800s. They say it was the 1880s, but I’ve seen different opinions.

But, in what city did it first appear?

You’d be wrong if you said, “New York.” It was in Chicago.

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

So, when did it becomethe New York sour? I just don’t know. And frankly, I don’t care,because what I do know is that it’s a delicious co*cktail and if you like bourbon, you will like it, too!

Isn’t thatknowledge enough?

I say yes.

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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 co*cktail, 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 co*cktail, 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 co*cktail.
• For this co*cktail, 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 co*cktail.

How to make this New York sour recipe

Pre-step

Fill a co*cktail 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 co*cktail shaker.

Step one

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

Step two

Measure 4 ounces bourbon.

Step three

Squeeze 2 ounces of fresh lemon juice.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.

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 wine for each co*cktail.

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.

Now for the vertical view of the New York sour.

Yum. So good!

I hope you enjoyed this New York sour co*cktail 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 alsoFOLLOW MEonFACEBOOK,TWITTER,INSTAGRAMandPINTERESTto see more of my delicious food and delightful co*cktails!

Originally published May of 2017.