The Perfect Whiskey Sour

Travel Distilled discovers the perfect Whiskey Sour, and it’s in a can from the Tip Top cocktail range and costs a bargain $5 or so.

Tip Top Whiskey Sour Canned Cocktail
photo by Jose Pereiro

I’m a big fan of some cocktails in cans, as they range from the excellent to the thin and insipid – though these can sometimes be improved simply by adding more of the base alcohol.

The best cocktails in cans don’t need extra booze as the makers use the right amount of quality liquor to produce a proper cocktail of the kind you’d expect to be served in a cocktail bar… but at about half the price. And thanks to the people who make the Tip Top Cocktail range, I’ve just found my perfect Whiskey Sour.

What is a Whiskey Sour?

The standard Whiskey Sour combines whiskey, lemon juice, and sugar, and is garnished with a maraschino cherry, lemon wedge, or orange slice. There are variations, of course, but the recipe recommended by the International Bartenders Association is a 3-2-1 combination:

3 parts bourbon
2 parts fresh lemon juice
1 part simple syrup

It’s an easy recipe to remember, and easy enough to prepare, but sometimes you just want to kick back and pop open a can while the adverts are on TV.

The Perfect Whiskey Sour

If that’s the case then stock up on the Tip Top Cocktail. One reason it’s so darn good is that it has a healthy whiskey content, and weighs in at 25% ABV (50 proof). That means about half the can is whiskey, and you can certainly taste it. The can may be small but it carries quite a kick, and has that perfect Whiskey Sour blend of bitter, sweet, and sour. Improve the look by adding ice and a slice, and then fool your friends into thinking you made it.

Tip Top doesn’t say which whiskey they use, other than that it’s a bourbon, which is one reason the drink has those notes of vanilla and oak, alongside the tart lemon and the sweetness a bourbon brings.

History of the Whiskey Sour

Nobody really knows who made the first Whiskey Sour, but its name was first mentioned in a newspaper in 1870. It’s possible it was created by the influential American bartender Jerry Thomas, who mentions sour cocktails in his 1862 book Bar-Tender’s Guide, which was the first drinks book to be published in the USA. It may also have derived from a drink popular with sailors, who added some citrus to their liquor to help avoid scurvy.

Well, whoever first came up with a Whiskey Sour we can all be grateful, especially when this recipe from Tip Top is about as perfect as you can get.