Sour Cocktails
Explore 46 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, Raspberry liqueur, Lemon juice, Soda water, Egg
More top Sour cocktails
Green Tea
Whiskey, Peach schnapps, Sour mix, Lemon-lime soda
Amaretto Sour
Amaretto, Lemon juice, Aromatic bitters, Egg
The Emerson
Gin, Maraschino cherry liqueur, Red vermouth, Lime juice
Jeffrey Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour
Bourbon, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup, Egg
Dolcevita
Whiskey, Amaretto, Rhubarb liqueur, Lemon juice, Pineapple juice, Agave syrup
Vanilla vodka sour
Vanilla vodka, Vanilla liqueur, Lemon juice, Egg
Pineapple Tequila Sour
Tequila añejo, Lime juice, Pineapple juice, Banana
Copenhagen Sour
Akvavit, Galliano, Elderflower liqueur, Lime juice, Lemon juice, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Egg
Kamikaze Shot
Vodka, Triple sec, Lime juice
Kahlúa Sour
Coffee liqueur, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup
Closing Argument
Mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Lime juice, Maraschino cherry
Boston Sour
Bourbon, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup, Egg
Green Tea
Whiskey, Peach schnapps, Sour mix, Lemon-lime soda
Amaretto Sour
Amaretto, Lemon juice, Aromatic bitters, Egg
The Emerson
Gin, Maraschino cherry liqueur, Red vermouth, Lime juice
Jeffrey Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour
Bourbon, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup, Egg
Dolcevita
Whiskey, Amaretto, Rhubarb liqueur, Lemon juice, Pineapple juice, Agave syrup
Vanilla vodka sour
Vanilla vodka, Vanilla liqueur, Lemon juice, Egg
Pineapple Tequila Sour
Tequila añejo, Lime juice, Pineapple juice, Banana
Copenhagen Sour
Akvavit, Galliano, Elderflower liqueur, Lime juice, Lemon juice, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Egg
Kamikaze Shot
Vodka, Triple sec, Lime juice
Kahlúa Sour
Coffee liqueur, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup
Closing Argument
Mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Lime juice, Maraschino cherry
Boston Sour
Bourbon, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup, Egg
More top Sour cocktails
Green Tea
Whiskey, Peach schnapps, Sour mix, Lemon-lime soda
Amaretto Sour
Amaretto, Lemon juice, Aromatic bitters, Egg
The Emerson
Gin, Maraschino cherry liqueur, Red vermouth, Lime juice
Jeffrey Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour
Bourbon, Amaretto, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup, Egg
Dolcevita
Whiskey, Amaretto, Rhubarb liqueur, Lemon juice, Pineapple juice, Agave syrup
Vanilla vodka sour
Vanilla vodka, Vanilla liqueur, Lemon juice, Egg
Pineapple Tequila Sour
Tequila añejo, Lime juice, Pineapple juice, Banana
Copenhagen Sour
Akvavit, Galliano, Elderflower liqueur, Lime juice, Lemon juice, Peychaud's Aromatic Bitters, Egg
Kamikaze Shot
Vodka, Triple sec, Lime juice
Kahlúa Sour
Coffee liqueur, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup
Closing Argument
Mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Lime juice, Maraschino cherry
Boston Sour
Bourbon, Lemon juice, Sugar / simple syrup, Egg
Explore every Sour cocktail
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