Sour Cocktails
Explore 50 Sour cocktail recipes.
Sour cocktails run on a three-part formula that's older than most cocktail traditions — spirit, citrus, sweetener, in proportions that pull against each other rather than line up. The Amaretto Sour is the friendliest doorway in: almond liqueur softens the citrus, lemon and an egg-white shake build the texture, and you end up with something halfway between an aperitif and a dessert. The Boston Sour is a Whisky Sour with the egg white added, which turns the head into a velvet layer and gives the drink some body.
The Whiskey Collins stretches the same sour idea long with soda; the Closing Argument and Cosmonaut both lean into more aromatic spirits over the same base. The pattern across the list is that the sweetener is doing structural work as much as taste work — it pulls the citrus into a register the spirit can sit in, and the spirit pulls the citrus back from being purely tart. Most are shaken, most run quick, most reward a fresher lemon or lime than the supermarket variety.
Egg white in a sour is optional but almost always rewarded — a properly dry-shaken sour ends up with a half-inch of foam at the top that smells different from the body of the drink and changes how the first sip lands.
Our top Sour cocktail
Chambord Vodka Sour
Vodka, Liqueur de framboise, Soda water, Lemon juice, Œuf
More top Sour cocktails
Green Tea
Peach schnapps, Whiskey, Lemon-lime soda, Sour mix
Amaretto Sour
Amaretto, Lemon juice, Bitters aromatiques, Œuf
Jeffrey Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour
Bourbon, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Sucre / sirop simple, Œuf
The Emerson
Gin, Liqueur de cerise Maraschino, Vermouth rouge, Jus de citron vert
Dolcevita
Whiskey, Liqueur de rhubarbe, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Jus d'ananas, Sirop d'agave
Pineapple Tequila Sour
Tequila añejo, Jus de citron vert, Jus d'ananas, Banana
Firebrand
Bourbon, Fernet-Branca Liqueur, Lemon juice, Sirop de gingembre, Mint leaves
Vanilla vodka sour
Vodka à la vanille, Liqueur de vanille, Lemon juice, Œuf
Kamikaze Shot
Vodka, Triple sec, Jus de citron vert
Copenhagen Sour
Akvavit, Liqueur de fleur de sureau, Galliano, Jus de citron vert, Lemon juice, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Œuf
Kahlúa Sour
Liqueur de café, Lemon juice, Sucre / sirop simple
Closing Argument
Mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Jus de citron vert, Cerise Maraschino
Green Tea
Peach schnapps, Whiskey, Lemon-lime soda, Sour mix
Amaretto Sour
Amaretto, Lemon juice, Bitters aromatiques, Œuf
Jeffrey Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour
Bourbon, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Sucre / sirop simple, Œuf
The Emerson
Gin, Liqueur de cerise Maraschino, Vermouth rouge, Jus de citron vert
Dolcevita
Whiskey, Liqueur de rhubarbe, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Jus d'ananas, Sirop d'agave
Pineapple Tequila Sour
Tequila añejo, Jus de citron vert, Jus d'ananas, Banana
Firebrand
Bourbon, Fernet-Branca Liqueur, Lemon juice, Sirop de gingembre, Mint leaves
Vanilla vodka sour
Vodka à la vanille, Liqueur de vanille, Lemon juice, Œuf
Kamikaze Shot
Vodka, Triple sec, Jus de citron vert
Copenhagen Sour
Akvavit, Liqueur de fleur de sureau, Galliano, Jus de citron vert, Lemon juice, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Œuf
Kahlúa Sour
Liqueur de café, Lemon juice, Sucre / sirop simple
Closing Argument
Mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Jus de citron vert, Cerise Maraschino
More top Sour cocktails
Green Tea
Peach schnapps, Whiskey, Lemon-lime soda, Sour mix
Amaretto Sour
Amaretto, Lemon juice, Bitters aromatiques, Œuf
Jeffrey Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour
Bourbon, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Sucre / sirop simple, Œuf
The Emerson
Gin, Liqueur de cerise Maraschino, Vermouth rouge, Jus de citron vert
Dolcevita
Whiskey, Liqueur de rhubarbe, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Jus d'ananas, Sirop d'agave
Pineapple Tequila Sour
Tequila añejo, Jus de citron vert, Jus d'ananas, Banana
Firebrand
Bourbon, Fernet-Branca Liqueur, Lemon juice, Sirop de gingembre, Mint leaves
Vanilla vodka sour
Vodka à la vanille, Liqueur de vanille, Lemon juice, Œuf
Kamikaze Shot
Vodka, Triple sec, Jus de citron vert
Copenhagen Sour
Akvavit, Liqueur de fleur de sureau, Galliano, Jus de citron vert, Lemon juice, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Œuf
Kahlúa Sour
Liqueur de café, Lemon juice, Sucre / sirop simple
Closing Argument
Mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Jus de citron vert, Cerise Maraschino
Explore every Sour cocktail
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