Mezcal Sour

Taste

Two ounces of mezcal, three-quarters of lime, a half ounce of honey syrup, egg white. The foam carries the smoke up first, then the lime arrives, and the honey sits under all of it. Shaken, rocks with ice, lemon twist. The house sour ratio with mezcal in the whiskey's place.

History

The sour is the older shape: spirit, citrus, and sugar, printed by Jerry Thomas in 1862, with egg white a European habit that reached American bars later. Mezcal came to it late. Artisanal mezcal barely existed in the United States until Ron Cooper founded Del Maguey in 1995 and began importing single-village bottlings, and the sour built on it belongs to the revival that followed rather than to any one bar or year; Difford's dates its own spec to March 2025, and most others are undated house pours. This menu uses the same ratio as the Whiskey Sour and the Gin Sour, with honey syrup for the sugar and a lemon twist over the ice.

• Difford's Guide, Mezcal Sour
• Difford's Guide, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal

Same shape, other bottles

The Sour family, with the bottle that changed.

• Gin Sourgin and lemon juice for mezcal and lime juice
• Harvest Sourrye, apple brandy, and lemon juice for mezcal and lime juice
• Whiskey Sourbourbon and lemon juice for mezcal and lime juice
• Pink Ladygin, apple brandy, and grenadine for mezcal and honey syrup
• Daiquirilight rum and simple syrup for mezcal and honey syrup
• Gimletgin and simple syrup for mezcal and honey syrup