Documented 1862.
| 2 oz · 60 ml | BOURBON | 40 % |
| ¾ oz · 22 ml | LEMON JUICE | |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | SIMPLE SYRUP | |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | EGG WHITE |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 3.75 oz mixed with ice, 0.8 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.75 oz of water |
| Served | 3.75 + 0.75 = 4.5 oz in the glass |
| Strength | 0.8 ÷ 4.5 = 17.8 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM WHISKEY · from oak barrel aging
Bourbon's fingerprint, extracted from the charred American oak the law requires for aging. Same molecule as the vanilla bean's signature, so a well-aged bourbon legitimately tastes like vanilla. Chemistry, not metaphor. Cognac, aged rum, tequila reposado all extract vanillin from oak too. Different barrels, same molecule.
ALSO IN Old Fashioned · Manhattan · Paper Plane · Boulevardier · Sazerac · Espresso Martini · Mai Tai · Amaretto Sour
FROM LEMON · the lemon aroma
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
ALSO IN Margarita · Mojito · Daiquiri · Gimlet · Moscow Mule · Paper Plane · Aviation · Corpse Reviver #2
Bourbon, lemon and sugar, the archetype of the sour family. Vanillin from the barrel sits under citral from the lemon. Egg white is optional and textural, with zero ethanol contribution. Congener load matches the base spirit.
Sailor-era ancestry: ration spirit plus citrus to ward off scurvy, sweetened to mask the rotgut. First written in Jerry Thomas's 1862 How to Mix Drinks, the foundational American bartender's manual. The egg-white shake (Boston Sour) is later; the dry version is the original.
