New York Sour Cocktail: The Original and Best Recipe

Cool the glass by filling it with ice cubes, then set aside while preparing the cocktail in the shaker.

Cool and empty the shaker as well. For home use we recommend the 'cobbler shaker', also called traditional or continental.

It consists of three parts: a lower part (made of steel, glass or plastic), which acts as a container where the ingredients are placed, a first upper part consisting of a perforated cap that serves as a filter, also called a dome, and a second upper part which represents the lid, also called the hat, to be placed over the filter.

The three parts must be perfectly interlocked in order to avoid any unwanted leaks during shaking.

The cocktail is poured simply by opening the lid, the strainer action is ensured by the special dome which removes the need to use a separate strainer.

Squeeze the lemon juice with a manual citrus squeezer. Measure and pour the juice into the shaker using a jigger.

Next, measure the cane sugar syrup with the jigger and pour into the shaker.

Then, measure the pasteurised egg white with the jigger and pour into the shaker.

Finally, measure the rye whiskey with the jigger and pour into the shaker.

Close the shaker. Dry shake the ingredients dry (without ice) to allow all the components to emulsify and the egg white to obtain the desired foam typical of this cocktail.

Fill the shaker 3/4 full with ice. Put the lid on tight and shake vigorously until all the metal parts of the shaker have completely cooled down and are covered with condensation.

With the help of a cocktail strainer, remove the excess water that has formed inside the glass. Open the shaker. Then, pour the cocktail into the chilled glass filled with ice.

Add the red wine, trying to prevent it from falling to the bottom of the glass. To make it float, pour the wine onto the back of a spoon, resting on the edge of the glass, so as to make it fall more gently and cascade into the top of the glass.

Remove a tongue of peel from an orange using a vegetable peeler. Twist over the glass to squeeze the essential oils into the cocktail.

Use the peel to garnish the cocktail (thread on a toothpick along with a cherry).

Recipe Curiosity

Surprisingly, the New York Sour, which dates back to the late 1870s, was created in Chicago by a bartender who claimed to have invented the Manhattan. While the Manhattan's authorship cannot be confirmed, the New York Sour can safely be attributed to this bartender, even though the cocktail's name has changed a few times in history since its conception.

It was known as the Continental Sour and the Whiskey Sour of the South before becoming, as we know it today, New York Sour.