The older you get, the more the "little" stuff means to you. I have always loved food. I have always loved the experience of food. I like the feeling you get when you bite into or drink something that can transport you somewhere else in your mind. It can make you remember something.. a time, place, or person that you got to share that time with. I use food as one of my "stop and smell the flowers" mediums for life.
The Whiskey Sour is my favorite cocktail in the world. I love a classic cocktail. I love the simplicity, I love the feeling you get when you sip through the foam to have a perfectly balanced drink.
This is my recipe, that I have taken the honey from a "Beez Kneez", the bitters from an "old fashioned", and used them with the traditional ingredients of the "Whiskey Sour" to make my version of a perfect cocktail.
Gather your ingredients.
Pictured here is
1. Bourbon of choice. I really like Bulleit for my go to for cocktails. If I am drinking a Bourbon neat or on the rocks, Angels Envy is my choice, hands down.
2. Lemon juice or lemons, or both. I really like the Santa Cruz lemon juice.
3. A jigger 2 oz large head and 1 oz small head.
4. Honey
5. Bitters
6. Boston shaker, rocks glasses, and pint glass.
Lets now make the garnish. The lemon peel is very important for this ingredient. It is not only for a nice finishing touch to contrast the drink, the bright lemon fragrance contrasts the sweet drink the zing the tastebuds.
Cut the ends off the ends like so.
Next take a bar spoon and push the spoon halfway into the lemon like this and push down to separate the lemon from the peel.
Rotate it around separating it around completely. After you are done with the first side, flip it around and do the same to the other side.
Slice just the peel.
Now, you have the peel.
Roll it up like this.
Cut like so.
Now, the garnishes are done until you use them.
Let's get to the drink.
Take approx. 1/2 cup of honey and put in a dish. Add a smidge of hot water to it and stir. This creates a solution which makes it shakeable in the drink. If you don't do this part, you will add it and it will be rock candy floating around.
Add your ingredients to the pint glass. This recipe is for 2 drinks.
Recipe:
5 oz Bourbon
2 oz Lemon Juice
2 oz + 1 kiss more honey solution
5 dashes Bitters.
Next get your Boston Shaker
Put it on your pint glass at an angle and give it a whack on top.
You should be able to lift it up by the shaker and have the glass lift up as well.
Flip the glass so it is on top. Notice, I there is no ice in the glass. We are dry shaking this drink. The reason I dry shake this is, I am pouring over ice. If you want to serve it "Straight Up" you would add ice at the last second before you put the shaker on the glass.
Next, you shake the begeezus out of it. I shake vigorously for at least 10 seconds. You have to shake more when you dry shake vs when you have ice in the shaker because the ice helps to aerate the drink. And the agitation is the reason for the shaking.
Now, get your cubes. I use large cubes because they make the drink cold, and they don't melt and bruise your drink. I like a round cube for a women and square cube for a man.
Pour your beautifully shaken drink over the cube.
Admire that foam..this is my wife's drink. It is this point where I get most excited. I become nostalgic (I told you I love the food/drink experience) , this is literally where I look at the drink and it makes me think of who is going to drink it. I share this experience with them and they don't even know it. It zings this emotional feeling for me as I get to share a little piece of life with them.
Next, take one of your little rolls of lemon peels, hold it directly over your glass and stretch it out and give it a little twist. This releases the oils and gives that lemon brightness to the top of your drink.
Cheers,
Justin