Gin Sour

Taste

Two ounces of gin, three-quarters of lemon, a half ounce of simple, and egg white. The white is foam and a silk coat; the lemon is tart underneath. Shaken, rocks with ice, lemon twist. It sits: gin, citrus, and a head that lasts while the cube melts.

History

Jerry Thomas prints the Gin Sour in 1862 How to Mix Drinks as the Gin Fix without the fruit: sugar, water, lemon, gin, in a small bar glass. A sour is a punch for one. The first record of the name is an 1856 list at Mart Ackermann's Saloon in Toronto. Egg white is later; Eddie Clark's 1947 King Cocktail and the 1955 UKBG guide treat it as optional, not original. This menu pours two ounces of gin, three-quarters of lemon, a half ounce of simple, and egg white, over ice with a lemon twist.

• Difford's Guide, History of sour cocktails
• Jerry Thomas, Bar-Tender's Guide (1862), p. 59

Same shape, other bottles

The Sour family, with the bottle that changed.

• Harvest Sourrye and apple brandy for gin
• Mezcal Sourmezcal and lime juice for gin and lemon juice
• Whiskey Sourbourbon and demerara syrup for gin and simple syrup
• Dry Vermouth Sourwith dry vermouth
• Pink Ladylime juice and grenadine for lemon juice and simple syrup
• Daiquirilight rum and lime juice for gin and lemon juice