No. 47Whiskey, Bourbon & Shots
Pickle Whiskey Sour
Sweet, tart and silky, with a salty little wink.
The Pickle Whiskey Sour is a classic bourbon sour with half an ounce of dill pickle brine shaken in alongside the lemon, sugar and egg white. The brine adds a savory, salted edge that makes the lemon pop, and the egg white gives it a soft, foamy top.
21+Updated
Brine3/53 of 5
HeatNonenone
StrengthHigh
- Glass
- rocks glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Time
- 4 min
- Makes
- 1 drink
Ingredients
Make it for
Units
Amounts for 1, in ounces.
- 2 oz bourbon
- ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
- ¾ oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar and water)
- ½ oz dill pickle brine
- 1 egg white (or 0.75 oz aquafaba)
- Angostura bitters (a few drops, to dot the foam) optional
- 1 dill pickle chip (on a pick, for garnish)
- 1 lemon twist (for garnish)
- Glass
- rocks glass
- Garnish
- pickle chip and lemon twist
How to make it
- Add the bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, brine and egg white to a shaker.
- Shake hard without ice for 15 seconds to whip the egg white.
- Add ice and shake again until the tin is frosty.
- Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
- Let the foam settle, then dot it with bitters.
- Garnish with a pickle chip and a lemon twist.
Bar tips
- For an even thicker foam, reverse the shakes: shake with ice first, strain out the ice, then shake again without it.
- Squeeze the lemon fresh; bottled juice turns harsh next to the brine.
- Use pasteurized egg whites from a carton if raw egg is a concern.
Make it your own
- Skip the egg white for a sharper, lighter sour over fresh ice.
- Use rye for a drier, spicier sour.
Bar lore
Jerry Thomas printed sour recipes in his 1862 bartender's guide, and the Whiskey Sour turns up by name in a Wisconsin newspaper, the Waukesha Plain Dealer, in 1870.
Drink responsibly. This one is for adults of legal drinking age. Want it without the booze? The zero-proof drinks are just as briny.
Full recipe: dillin.org/recipes/pickle-whiskey-sour
