Canadian Sour Cocktail

By
Lance Mayhew
Lance Mayhew
Award-winning mixologist, freelance cocktail columnist, and author of the book "Whisky Made Me Do It."
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Updated on 09/8/21
Canadian Club Sour Cocktail
Maximilian Stock Ltd./Photolibrary/Getty Images
Prep: 2 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 2 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

Known for its smooth taste, the blended whiskeys of Canada are the perfect choice for a twist on the classic whiskey sour. This cocktail ramps up the sour aspect, pouring a full 2 ounces of lemon juice. It seems like that would be too much, but it works surprisingly well, particularly with a full-bodied Canadian whisky that's aged 10 years or more.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice.

  2. Shake vigorously.

  3. Strain into a double rocks glass over fresh ice.

  4. Garnish with a maraschino cherry or lemon wedge.

Tips

  • Most sour drinks begin with an equal pour of the two ingredients and this one opts for more lemon than whiskey. This may be too sour for some tastes and should be adjusted accordingly.
  • The prevalence of lemon juice also makes it crucial that fresh-squeezed juice is used and that it be properly measured using a jigger. Bottled lemon juice is either too sweet or too sour to find the delicate balance needed for a cocktail like this.
  • The last ingredient to consider is the sweetener. It is key to balancing out the sour aspect of any sour drink and should not be overlooked. Plain, granulated sugar can be added to the cocktail shaker while mixing though you may find that it does not dissolve completely and that is why bartenders rely on simple syrup in the bar.
  • If you have never made simple syrup, it is one of the easiest homemade bar ingredients out there. It is as easy as dissolving sugar in water as it heats and letting that simmer for a few minutes. In less than 10 minutes, you can have a fresh batch of syrup cooling and it is considerably cheaper than buying simple syrup at the liquor store.

How Strong Is the Canadian Sour?

When an 80 proof whiskey is mixed into the cocktail as listed in the recipe, this drink is a casual 19 percent ABV (38 proof). This is typical for drinks of this style and considerably stronger than a glass of wine.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
132 Calories
0g Fat
10g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 132
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 15mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 10g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 9mg 46%
Calcium 10mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 87mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)